i 


lyfl  • 


THE 

LIFE, 

AB  VENTURES, 

AND 

UNPARALLELED  SUFFERINGS 


OF 


CONTAINING 

An  Account  of  his  Travels  through  France,  Italy,  the  F/ast  a  fed 
West  Indies,  and  part  of  the  United  Spates  :  his  Imprison- 
ment in  France,  Germany  and  Spain  ;  and  the  Lati- 
tude, Soil,  Climate,  Productions,  Manners  and 
Customs  of  the  different  Countries 


WRITTEN  BY  HIMSELF. 


TRENTON 

PUBLISHED    BY    D.  FENTON,    NEARLY    OPPCSI1  F, 

THE    BANK. 
1.i.  Deare,  Printer,  N. 


m-Jemcy^  to  ivi-., 

Co  it  remembered,  That  on  the  first  da}-  of  Jur.e,  in  the  iim  y 
•  ear  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
•  \  DREW  OEIILER,  of  the  suid  district,  hath  deposited  in  this  office 
the  title  of  a  book  the  right  whereof  he  claims  as  author  in  the  words 
l\  il;nvittg,  to -wit,  "  The  Life,  Adventures,  and   Unparalleled  Suf- 
1'i-ri  igs  pf  Andrew  Oehler :  containing  an  account  of  his  Travels 
Through  Prance,  Italy,  the  East  and  West  Indies,  and  part  of  the 
'Jn'tted  States  :  his  Imprisonment  in  France,  Germany,  and  Spain  ; 
arid   the  Latitude,  Soil,  Climate,  Productions,  Manners   and  Cns- 
r.f  the  different  Countries.    Written  by  Himself."    In  conform- 
i'y  to  the  act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United"  States,  entitled  "an  act 
ti>;/  the  enco'irsipjem^nt  cflejarning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps, 
;',  and  bopks,;t<j  .t"r,e  anchors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies  dur- 
ing (fee  times  t'h'erehi' mentioned,"  and  also  to  the  act  entitled  "  an 
^.ct  sii](j>lpnientp7;ytto  a,n  a.ct  eritHled  an  act  for  the  encouragement  of 
&:»r/i»r,S^liy  Securing  |hexogies  of  maps,   charts,  and  books  to  the 
'.  aitihoWaJict  ^'roprietors  of  such'copies  during  the  times  therein  men- 
d,  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  designing, 
•  n---:i\ir'%  and  etching,  historical  and  other  prints." 

KOPERT  BOGGS,  Clerk  of  the  District  of  New -Jersey. 


PHEFACE, 


HE  following  narrative  is  presented  to  li^  \ 
more  especially  to   my   friends  and    ac  ,  in 

order  to. give  them  a  history  of  the  •.-.' 
kir  sufferings,  and  providential  circu; 
have  passed  through,  than  ir.,:  \  any  \..v-  to  p 
advantage  ;  and   especially  as  it  wiii  serve  tj 
many  things  which  have  not  had  the  ; 
did  investigation)  and  have  often  beet)  viewed  in  UneA    n 
scales.     My  steady  and  firm  determination  h:;s  !  a 
set  every  material  circumstance  in  a  c.«  i;i    ct% 

view  :  many  things  of  small   consequence   ha 
purposely  omitted,  as  my  friends  or; 
bafrassed  with  re  • 

every  where  common.  enclcuvoj 

the  most  profitable  r.n:l  entertaining  stylo, 
died  brevity   and    conciseness    throughout    In 
work.     As  for  the  truth   of  \vhr-t  the  - 
will  find  here   recorded,    I  ask  no  man  to  believe-. 
shall  entreat  no  man's  charily,  well  knowing  that   the 
candid  and  learned  amongst  men  will  form  i;o  conclu- 
sion without  first  laying  down  a  foundation,  built  or» 
the  strong  basis  of  reason  and  good  sense.     To 
racters  of  this  description  I  can  be  generous  and  can- 
did enough  to  say,  that  as  they  re?d  they  may  rtCxtlvc 
the  pleasure  of  believing  tnat  these  relations  are  real 
facts,  and  a  colouring  us  true  as 'possible  given  to  every 
circumstance  :  for  the  information   of  the  curious  and 
inquisitive    amongst  the  rising  youth,  I  have   irpokiu 
largely    on    the    most   material     things    relating    to 
the  different  countries  :  and  with  respect  to  tne.exhi- 
bitions   herein  mentioned  of  some  extraordinary  ftv.t.s 
.performed  at  the  times  related,  they  vUl  fi.nd  the 


0817 


.Tts; explained' -at  the  latter  end  of  the  nar- 

Th'e   /.;..<••  .Jia-r"eoffei-lngs  and  imprisonments  in 

••opa  in  ul  the  southern  puns  of  Amenca5  through 

prejudice  avid    jealousy,  and  the   different  scenes  of 

spciity  and    .dversiiy  alternately  following,  explain 

mutability  ?;rd  uncertaii  ty  of  all  human  things, 

Vi'iiich  m^-  be  ^c  cle?i'iy  sc!,n  as  face  to  iace  in  a  glass. 

'J  hat   a  p.  of  table   r;iid   r.clvania^eous    improvement 
;:•:•/  c\riso   to  all,    the    :i  ing    pcncrution  in  particular, 
i  cosy  pl'.^.e  LJ  p-cru:^'  ;heto  sheets,  is  the  sincere 
pttblick's  hunvble  servant) 

ANDREW    OEIILEU. 


OF 

ANDREW  OEHLE1L 


A  WAS  iDorn  in  Alstadt,  in  the  district  of 
Franckfort  on  the  Maine,  in  Germany,  (it  fu-t 
and  independent  city,  which  abounds  in  all  the 
luxuries  and  necessaries  of  life),  on  the  16th 
clay  of  March,  A.  D.  1 78 1 .  jYIy  father's  name 
was  Ryneheart  Odiler ;  the  son  of  Anthony 
Oehlcr,  who  was  a  lieut.  in  the  militia  under 
the  Prince  of  Hesse:  my  father's  business  was. 
trading  from  Frarickfbrt  to  Holland  in  wines, 
brandy,  timber,  &c.  My  mother  was  the 
daughter  of  the  Episcopal  minister  of  the  same 
district:  her  name  was  Catharine  Assuvnus  : 
she  was  religious  and  well  educated,  and  used 
to  take  great  pains  in  instructing  her  little  fam- 
ily : — this  I  can  well  remember  from  the  time 
that  I  was  quite  young.  My  father  was  captain, 
before  his  marriage,  in  wlni  v,~as  called  the 
seven  years  wars,  that  engaged  Austria.  Fr.v. 
ancTRussia  against  Frederick  the  Great!  1; 
of  Prussia.  _  He  had  five  sons  and  five  daii 
ters.  and  as  I  was  his  young  '-.e  took  can" 

to  keep  me  under  his  more  imine-': 
A  2 


lion,  and  used  to  take  me  along  with  him  as  » 
constant  attendant  in  all  his  business  to  Am- 
sterdam ;  from  the  time  I  was  six  until  I  was 
ten  years  of  age,  he  used  to  make  two  voyages 
there  in  a  year:  during  this  short  period  I  had, 
at  intervals,  been  instructed  in  the  common 
branches  of  education  which  were  generally 
taught  in  the  city.  But  my  brother  George 
being  of  an  enterprizing  turn,  was  willing  that 
I  should  be  brought  up  in  a  different  manner; 
from  what  I  then  followed,  and  wished  me  to  be 
placed  at  school  and  prepared  for  a  better  kind 
of  business.  There  was,  I  believe,  some  al- 
tercation and  debate  on  the  subject,  yet  the 
opinion  of  my  Father  must  be  first  regarded, 
and  1  was  placed  at  the  taylor's  shop  to  learn 
his  trade  first ;  and  as  the  chief  object  of  my 
brother  George  was  that  I  should  be  brought 
up  under  his  superintendance  and  instructions, 
he  was  promised  by  my  father,  that  when  I  had 
served  three  years  at  that  business,  I  should 
spend  the  rest  of  my  time  with  him  in  the  mer- 
cantile line,  until  I  should  be  twenty-  one  years 
of  age  ;  this  my  father  had  determined  on,  that 
if  ever  I  should  be  unfortunate  in  the  world, 
(and  he  had  not  an  independent  fortune  to  give 
me),  that  I  should  not  be  left  without  any 
means  of  subsistence  ;  and  his  ideas  were  very 
good,  as  by  experience  I  have  found  that  my 
trade  has  often  been  of  very  singular  use  to  me 
in  instances,  when,  without  it,  I  must  inevita- 
bly have  perished.  I  do  not  expect  that  he  had 
any  prognostications  of  my  travels,  but  this  hfr: 


knew,  that  the  Germans  were  a  people  subject 
to  vdveiiing  more  than  any  nation  on  earth  ,  \s 
it  is  a  common  saying  in  German}-,  that  *  the 
Germans  are  great  travellers  ;'  and  it  is  a  very 
common  saving  among  them,  that  kno  man  is 
so  sure  of  a  good'living  as  he  that  lias  a  trade.' 
I  was  accordingly  bound  to  a  taylor,  to  be 
instructed  in  the  best  manner  possible  in  the 
taylor's  trade,  from  the  time  that  I  was  ten  un- 
til I  was  thirteen  years  old  ;  and  my  father  was 
willing  to  pay  something  extraordinary  in  order 
that  I  might  acquire  my  trade  quick,  or  as  I 
was  very  young,  that  I  might  acquire  so  much 
knowledge  of  it  that  I  should  be  able  at  ma- 
turer  age,  with  a  little  more  insight,  to  follow 
the  business  respectably  :  this  I  believe  must 
,.  have  been  their  intention;  and  according  to  the 
common  saying,  '  what  is  sown  in  youth,  by 
early  impregnation,  is  rooted/  i.  e.  is  remem- 
bered ;  at  that  time  I  acquired  such  a  degree  of 
information  that  I  was,  when  necessitated  after- 
Wards  to  make' use  of  it,  well  enough  skilled  to 
make  easy  advancements  to  new  acquirements, 
and  without  expence  to  myself,  or  any  parti- 
cular  trouble,  to  attain  a  respectable  degree  in 
the  same  line  of  business. 

But  whilst  my  father  was  providing  a  degree 
0f  good  acquirements  for  his  children,  misfor- 
tunes began  to  spring  and  bud  on  his  own  foun- 
dation ;  anid  although  I  might  be  inaccurate 
should  I  attempt  to  give  in  detail  an  account 
of  the  progress 'of  these  misfortunes,  yet  I  will 
observe,  that  they  were  occasioned  by  the  pro- 


8 

ceedings  and  the  rash  conduct  of  the  French 
Revolution,  through  the  plans,  ungenerous  and 
unprincipled,  of  the  National  Convention  of 
France  ;  they  plundered,  burnt  and  destroyed, 
This,  however,  they  say  was  not  under  the  in- 
structions  or  superintendance  of  the  Great  Gen- 
eral Bonaparte,  who  they  pretend  to  say  is  of  a 
humane  and  generous  disposition. — Be  it  as  it 
may,  his  property  was  taken  from  him  with 
savage  cruelty  and  inhumanity. 

Whilst  my  father  decreased  in  property,  my 
brother  George  increased,  and  continued  to 
establish  himself  more  and  more  in  the  mercan- 
tile line  of  business,  in  Franckfort  upon  Maine. 
All  this  time  I  was  growing  discontented  in  the 
place  of  my  apprenticeship,  for  my  master,  al- 
though thought  well  of  at  first,  having  found  ^ 
himself  possessed  of  my  time  for  so  long  a  pe- 
riod, treated  me  with  the  greatest  disingenuitv  ; 
am!  finding  myself  powerfully  pressed  by  my 
father, "and  that  a  master  must  be  my  patron  and 
no?  my  hither,  and  no  relief,  I  grew  entirely 
discouraged. 

My  master  was  one  of  those  men  who  had  no 
h^-v-r  in  combat  with  either  his  superiors  or 
eqiL'is,  but  cruel  and  extremely  ungenerous  to 
his  subjects  and  dependents;  the  true  mark  of 
a  cowardly  and  dastardly  spirit :  for  my  part, 
I  too  sensibly  ielt  the  indignities  and  rough 
tisane  which  he  gave  me  the  short  time  tha;  I 
tav:icd  with  hi<.*,  ever  to  consent  to  being 
bound  out  a  second  time,  although  I  had  faith- 
fully served  until  J  had  finished  my  apprentice- 


ship.  Thi$  man's  usage  to  me  was  cruel  and 
almost  indescribable. 

Immediately  after  this,  my  brother  George, 
who  had  been  waiting  my  release  from  my  ap- 
prenticeship, made  a  new  application  to  my 
father  to  bind  me  to  him  to  serve  one  more 
apprenticeship  in  the  mercantile  business.  Had 
my  father  at  first  bound  me  out  to  a  person  of 
a  humane  and  gentle  disposition,  1  might  have 
been  willing  to  have  accepted  of  this  generous 
offer  of  my  brother ;  but  the  proverb  (the  burnt 
child  dreads  the  fire)  held,  unfortunately,  true 
with  me  in  this  critical  and  unfortunate  period  ; 
for  having  been  so  cruelly  abused  by  my  mas- 
ter, Mr.  Crembalhjoyne,  I  had  concluded  that 
all  masters  were  thus  cruel  to  servants.  In  a 
fatal  moment  I  concluded,  that  I  never  would 
be  under  an  other  master  as  an  apprentice  ;  but 
fearing  my  father  would  bind  me  to  my  broth- 
er, I  resolved  to  use  one  violent  effort,  to  pre- 
vent it.  It  was  now  that  I  left  all  my  Mends  in 
Franckfort  of  Maine,  and  threw  myself  into  a 
world  of  troubles,  perils  and  sufferings,  per- 
haps unequalled  in  some  respects  for  several 
centuries,  as  the  succeeding  history  will  shew. 
And  indeed  the  consideration  of  my  disobedi- 
ence to  my  parents,  my  unparalleled  ingrati- 
tude to  my  brother  George  in  particular,  which 
was  the  prime  cause  of  all  my  sufferings  and 
calamities,  bears  no  inconsiderable  part  in  the 
trials  which  1  endured. 

It  was  the  27th  of  May,  1794,  that  I  left  my 
native  place,  without  the  consent  of  my  fr 


10 

ther  or  any  of  my  acquaintance,  and  took  my 
departure  for  Slrasburgh.  Here  I  came  into  a 
new  train  of  reflections,  in  the  fourteenth  year 
of  my  age,  on  quitting  all  my  former  friends 
and  acquaintance,  and  launching  forth  in  an 
unknown  world  of  strange  and  unforeseen 
events.  I  had  with  me  a  trifling  sum  of  money 
in  my  small  purse,  which  I  had  laid  up  daring 
my  three  3- ears'  apprenticeship.  This  little 
sum,  which  was  accumulated  by  Receiving  small 
presents  fromgentlemen  to  whom  I  had  been 
sent  by  my  master  with  clothes,  was  the  whole 
of  my  dependence  for  support  until  I  could  get 
employment ;  however,  one  of  my  sisters  hav- 
ing been  married  to  a  gentleman  who  now  liv- 
ed in  Strasburgh,  I  concluded,  as  I  had  calcu- 
lated, to  call  on  her  for  some  assistance  :  (this 
place  \viis  situated  about  fitly  le'.nics  from 
Fianckfort,  where  my  L  Lher  ii-cO) :  ner  hus- 
band ^m  a  n?.tive  of  Strasburgb,  a^d  a  re- 
spectaJR  French  merchant.  I  an  ived  here  on 
the  10th  clav  of  Jane.  This  fair  and  well  in- 
habited city  lies  i;  bout  one  league  West  of  the 
river  Rhine,  and  within  the  limits  of  Palestine, 
in  43  degrees  and  36  minutes  of  North  latitude, 
and  8  degrees  10 minutes  East  longitude:  it  is 
very  handsomely  situated;  the  public  streets  are 
straight  and  handsome ;  the  alleys  are  beauti- 
fully adorned  with  trees  of  an  elegant  kind,  and 
well  fitted  to  refresh  the  weary  traveller,  or  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city  after  the  labours  of  the 
day  are  over.  I  have  seen  about  one  thousand 
people  walking  ia  them  on  a  pleasant  surnmer'3 


li 

evening  ;  they  are  situated  near  the  play-house, 
and  at  a  convenient  distance  from  the  bustle  of 
the  city.  There  is  in  this  city  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic church  called  the  Minster,  which  I  myself 
have  seen  at  fifteen  leagues  distance  on  land, 
and  it  is  reported  to  have  been  seen  by  others 
in  a  clear  day  at  the  distance  of  twenty  leagues 
with  the  naked  eye  :  however,  it  is  remarkably 
high  and  elegant,  built  of  stone  and  marble, 
with  ornamental  images,  which  beautifully  and 
surprizingly  grace  the  outside -of  the  building : 
it  is  reported  there,  that  four  kings  made  them- 
selves poor  in  rearing  this  costly  and  magnifi- 
cent fabric  ; — how  true  or  false  soever  this  may 
be,  it  is  beyond  all  doubt  that  it  cost  an  im- 
mense sum  of  money  and  labour  to  build  it ; 
but  it  is  a  great  part  of  the  religion  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  to  build  costly  and  magnificent 
houses  of  worship  in  all  countries.  This  city 
is  situate  in  a  healthy  climate,  and  well, water- 
ed, but  the  great  hindrance  to  its  populating 
is  its  great  distance  from  the  sea, — about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  leagues ;  small  boats  only  can 
come  here  by  water,  and  the  conveyance  is 
chiefly  by  land  :  the  number  of  inhabitants  are 
about  fifty  thousand  ;  since  the  French  Rev- 
olution, the  French  language  is  generally  spo- 
ken here. 

After  I  had  been  in  Strasburg,  one  day,  and 
was  a  little  recovered  from  the  fatigues  of  my 
journey,  I  put  on  the  best  suit  of  apparel  I  had 
brought  with  me,  and  made  enquiry  for  my 
sister :  her  husband  being  a  noted  man,  I  was 


12 

soon  directed  by  a  young  gentleman,  (who  ac- 
companied me)  to  the  place  of  her  residence. 
I  made  myself  known;  she  welcomed  and  re- 
ceived me  with  great  affection,  and  immediate- 
ly introduced  me  to  the  gentlemen  and  ladies 
who  happened  then  to  be  in  the  house  on  a 
tea-party  .  some  of  them  were  of  her  husband's 
relations.  After  I  had  sat  some  time  in  the 
company  and  felt  myself  very  happy  in  the 
agreeable  conversation  that  passed,  my  sister 
called  me  into  another  apartment,  and  enquir- 
ed more  particularly  of  many  things  in  her  fa- 
ther's family  at  Franckfort  of  Maine  ;  amongst 
the  rest  of  her  interrogatories,  What  had  been 
my  employment  ?  I  answered  that  of  a  taylor ; 
but  how  much  surprised  and  astonished  was  I 
to  hear  her  exclaim,  '  you  are  no  relation  of 
mine,  but  an  impostor !  make  the  best  of  your 
way  out  of  my  house,'  &c.  She  gave  rne  no 
time-to  enquire  into  the  cause  of  this  sud- 
den change,  but  immediately  withdrew,  and 
shut  the  door  in  passion  and  apparently  with 
deep  resentment  !  and  added  to  this,  her 
countenance  denoted  every  degree  of  displeas- 
ure imaginable,  and  that  nothing  remained  for 
me  to  expect,  or  hope,  for  any  thing  like 
friendship  to  be  received  from  her  in  any  fut- 
ure period. 

Here  I  was  in  a  strange  country,  without 
friends  or  acquaintance,  and  one  hundred  and 
fifty  English  miles  from  my  father's  house, 
having  fkd  fr-r  safety  from  the  hand  of  tyran- 
ny :  my  money  was  not  all  spent ; — but,  to 


have  the  character  of  an  Impostor  !  and  that 
given  me  by  a  sister  whom  I  loved  ai.d  es- 
teemed, and  from  whom  I  had  hoped  for  pro- 
tection and  deliverance  ;  and  added  to  this  the 
scandal  and  disgrace  which  would  naturally 
follow,  was  more  than  my  tender  heart  would 
well  bear, — and  all  this  for  having  obeyed  my 
father's  commands  in  suffering  myself  to  be 
taught  the  trade  of  an  honest  mechanic.- -It 
pierced  me  to  the  soul !  I  wept  and  cried,  was 
tossed  to  and  fro  by  various  passions  ;  those 
of  love  and  fear  being  predominant,  produced 
inexpressible  grief !  My  sister's  pride  would 
not  suffer  her  to  acknowledge  that  any  of  her 
family  was  a  tradesman  ;  the  young  gentleman 
who  accompanied  me  to  the  house  came  out 
of  the  parlour,  and  found  me  in  the  entry  or 
porch  in  this  lamentable  situation,  so  impress- 
ed with  grief,  and  in  a  flood  of  tears,  that  it 
moved  his  gentle  heart  with  pity,  and  with  an 
affectionate  tone  of  voice  he  put  his  hand  on 
my  shoulder,  and  said,  young  man,  never  mind 
it,  but  take  courage  ;  perhaps  the  road  may 
turn  after  a  while  ;  and  as  he  evidently  saw 
that  it  was  my  sister's  pride,  at  finding  that 
I  was  a  mechanic,  which  caused  her  to  reject 
me,  he  advised  me  to  bid  her  an  everlasting 
and  eternal  farewell  and  leave  the  house  ;  ac- 
cordingly seeing  one  of  the  maids  just  passing 
by,  1  sent  in  word,  that  I  wished  to  see  my 
sister  once  more  before  I  left  the  house. — I 
believe  she  did  the  errand,  for  in  a  few  min- 
utes my  sister  came  out,  then  taking  hold  of 


14 

ner  hand  I  said,  *  I  bid  you  now  an  eternal  and 
everlasting  farewell !  if  now  you  are  too  proud 
to  acknowledge  me  your  brother,  because  of 
my  decent  occupation    which  my  father  has 
seen  fit  to  give  me,  how  much  soever  you 
may   reflect  or  repent  of  it  hereafter,    yet  re- 
member,  that  you  shall   never  see   my  face 
again  !    I  will  see  you  no  more  forever  !     but 
bid  you  an  everlasting,  and  an  eternal  farewell  i* 
Here  my  reader  will  conclude,  that  my  re- 
sentment  was  raised,  perhaps  a  little  too  high  ; 
it  was  high  I  will  acknowledge,  but  when  we 
look  at  defamations  and  dishonor,  cast  at  us 
by   the   persons  who  have   always   professed 
themselves  our  friends,  such  things  as  these 
fail  on  us  like  sudden  claps  of  thunder  with  a 
seven- fold  weight !     We  are  confounded  at 
the  suddenness  of  the  shock  !    and  taught  the 
mutability    of  all  human   things,  as   it  were 
in  a  moment  of  time  !    We  are  surprised  at 
the  deceitfulness  that  can  reign  in  the  human 
breast !     and    whilst   these    subjects   present 
themselves    to   our  view,    every    discordant 
passion  stands  on  the  pinacle  of  the  soul !  and 
creates  the  most  inexpressible  anxiety,  grief, 
fear  and  dismay  !  If  the  consequences  are  im- 
portant, we  give  a  few  minutes  to  reflect,  and 
strike  a  full  and  a  decisive  blow  !     And   this 
indeed  was  the  case  in  the  abovementioncd 
circumstance    with  myself,  although   former 
affections,  still  not  wholly  eradicated,  obliged 
me  to  perform  it  with  tears  and  grief.     This 
being  done,  I  gently  turned  myself  round  froii) 


IB 

my  sister  and  went  down  the  steps  at  the  door 
and  passed  off  from  the  house.  Now  it  was 
that  heaven  touched  the  heart  of  steel !  My 
sister  instantly  felt  a  gleam  of  pity  for  the  de- 
jected and  afflicted  son  of  sorrow  ;  she  knew 
that  I  had  taken  that  course  from  my  father's 
house  in  preference  to  many  other  places,  in 
order  to  see  my  long  absent  and  beloved 
sister;  that  Iliad  placed  great  dependaftce  on 
her  humanity  and  affection  for  me,  when  I 
left  the  place  of  my  nativity,  and  that  the 
strong  presumption  that  1  should  enjoy  her 
friendship  and  protection  was  the  prime  cause 
of  my  venturing  to  break  the  shackles  of  my 
former  slavery  ;  and  whether  I  was  right  or 
not  in  such  proceedings,  she  knew  that  1  had 
acted  conscientiously  ar.d  with  good  regard  to 
propriety  ;  and  whether  she  considered  the 
great  distance  and  perils  of  the  way,  if  I 
should  be  obliged  to  return  home,  or  the 
perils  of  the  sea  if  I  were  to  flee  to  another 
country ;  or  of  bad  company,  or  unfortunate 
events  in  the  city,  I  know  not ;  but  this  I 
well  remember,  she  was  powerfully  affected, 
and  instantly  melted  into  a  flood  of  tears  :  with 
tenderness  and  sympathy  she  called  me  back, 
acknowledged  me  to  be  her  brother,  and  again 
once  more  invited  me  into  the  parlour  ;  a  re- 
conciliation soon  took  place  between  us,  and 
I  found  myself  under  the  protection  of  a  bro- 
ther-in-law, a  merchant  of  the  first  respecta- 
bility ir^  the  city  :  my  sister  was  also  very 
affectionate  and  kind,  and  under  their  hospita- 


16 

ble  roof  I  solaced  myself  in  pleasures  for  aboufc 
eighteen  months  During  all  this  time  they 
spared  no  pains  in  educating  me  in  the  difter- 
€•;«:  branches  and  sciences  of  Strasburg  fitted 
to  the  capacities  of  youth,  together  with  mil- 
itary discipline  :  here  I  did  nothing  but  what 
my  natural  inclination  and  ambition  approved ; 
my  brother-in-law  and  my  sister  being  .so  far 
my  superintendants  as  to  preserve  me  from 
the  immoralities  of  the  city.  As  they  had 
during  this  time  become  acquainted  with  my 
circumstances  when  I  k  ft  my  father,  by  let- 
ters written  from  Franckfort  of  Maine,  where 
rny  father  lived,  and  doubtless  being  informed 
of  his  intention  of  bringing  rne  into  the  mer- 
cantile line  of  business  with  my  brother 
George,  as  I  had  before  related,  they  generally 
humoured  me  in  such  exercises  and  employ- 
ments as  tended  to  give  me  instruction  and 
lead  my  mind  that  way. 

There  were  several  letters  written  by  my 
father  and  my  brother  George,  wishing  me  to 
return  to  my  native  place,  but  all  to  no  pur- 
pose ;  for  I  cared  little  about  the  advice  of  my 
sister  to  go  back,  so  long  as  I  found  that  she 
and  her  husband  used  me  so  politely,  and 
seemed  so  much  pleased  with  my  company. 
My  father  using  no  authority,  I  was  establish- 
ed in  my  opinion  of  things  and  measures,  and 
thought  that  it  was  best  for  me  never  jto  return. 

It  was  in  this  city  that  I  regaled  myself  with 
pleasures,  and  saw  my  happiest  days  ;  it  was 
a  place  of  many  curiosities  ;  and  one  thing- 


17 

which  would  be  entertaining1  to  the  reader, 
amongst  many  others  that  are  not  seen  in  other 
countries,  is  a  description  of  the  very  elegant 
clock  which  is  fixed  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
church  in  Strasburg.  A  full  description  of 
it  cannot  conveniently  be  given  in  this  small 
narrative,  but  it  may  be  observed  that  it  does 
not  go  in  all  its  parts  at  present :  its  curiosities 
have  been  the  admiration  of  all  Europe,  as 
in  the  work  there  may  be  seen  the  operation 
of  the  sun,  moon,  and  planets,  the  chime  of 
bells  and  the  artificial  cock,  (which  stands  on 
the  top  of  the  tower),  that  at  a  certain  hour 
would  crow  entirely  natural.  For  a  full  des- 
cription of  this  work,  I  refer  the  reader  to  the 
Methodist  Magazine,  printed  in  Philadelphia, 
1799,  Vol.  i,  Page  471  :  but  two  or  three 
of  its  greatest  curiosities  I  will  here  brieily 
mention ;  there  are  four  little  bells  whereon 
the  quarters  of  the  hour  are  struck  ;  at  the 
first  quarter  comes  forth  a  little  boy  and  strikes 
the  first  bell  with  an  apple,  passes  on,  and  stops 
at  the  fourth  bell  until  the  next  quarter ;  then 
comes  a  lusty  youth,  and  he  with  a  dart  strikes 
two  bells,  and  succeeds  to  the  place  of  the 
child  ;  at  the  third  comes  forth  a  man  in  arms, 
with  a  halbert  in  his  hand,  and  strikes  three 
bells,  he  succeeds  to  the  place  of  the  young 
man  ;  at  the  fourth  quarter  comes  an  old  man 
with  a  staff,  having  a  crook  at  the  end,  and  he 
with  much  ado,  being  old,  strikes  the  four 
bells,  and  stands  at  the  fourth  quarter,  until 
next  quarter  :~ immediately  to  strike  ths. 
B.  2. 


13 

clock,  comes  death,  in  the  room  above  the 
other;  and  this  understand,  that  at  each  quarter 
he  comes  forth  to  catch  each  of  thoce  former 
ages  away  with  him  ;  but  at  a  contrary  side,  in 
the  same  room  where  he  is,  comes  forth 
Christ,  and  drives  him  in  ;  but  when  the  last 
•quarter  is  heard,  Christ  gives  him  leave  to  go 
to  die  btll  which  is  in  the  midst,  and  so  he 
strikes  with  his  bone,  according  to  the  hour : 
and  he  stands  at  the  bell,  as  tl\e  old  man  doth 
at  his  quarter-bell,  till  the  next  quarter,  a:-cl 
then  they  go  in  both  together.  The  last  thing 
which  I  shall  mention  more  particularly,  and 
which  was  hinted  before,  is  the  tower  at  the 
top  of  the  work,  wherein  is  a  noble,  pleasant 
chime  which  goes  at  three,  seven,  and  eleven 
o'clock,  each  time  a  different  tune ;  and  ai 
Christinas,  Easter,  and  Whitsunday,  a  thanks- 
giving unto  Christ ; — and  when  this  chime  has 
done,  the  cock,  (which  stands  on  the  top  of 
the  tower  on  the  north  side  of  the  main  work), 
having  stretched  out  his  neck,  shook  his  comb, 
and  clapped  his  wings  twice,  crows  twice  ;  and 
this  he  does  so  shrill  and  natural  that  it  would 
excite  astonishment  in  any  one  ; — and  if  they 
ehuse,  who  attend  the  clock,  they  can  make 
him  crow  more  times.  From  this  tower  arc 
conveyed  all  the  instruments  of  those  motions 
which  are  in  the  aforesaid  things.  But  as 
was  before  observed,  this  clock  does  not  now 
perform  in  ail  its  parts ;  the  circumstances  are 
as  follows  ; — the  gentleman  who  was  the  chief 
workman,  and  who  invented  the  curiosities  in 


19 

this  clock,  told  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of 
Strasburg,  that  in  consequence  of  his  not  being 
fully  compensated  for  his  labour  in  inventing 
and  performing  the  work  for  them,  he  would 
be  under  the  necessity  of  travelling  to  another 
city,  and  building  another  of  the  same  kind  ; 
but  that  he  had  determined  that  the  work 
should  be  superior  in  elegance  and  fame  to 
that  performed  in  Strasburg  ;  upon  this,  the 
jealousy  of  the  priests  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church  immediately  arose,  and  they  confined 
him  in  the  common  prison.  In  order  to  re- 
venge himself,  or  make  his  escape,  or  both, 
he  told  them  that  there  was  something  impor- 
tant still  deficient  in  the  work,  and  some  assert 
that  the  clock  had  stopped,  and  needed  re- 
paLirg  :  be  that  as  it  may,  he  \vas  taken  out 
of  prison  and  accompanied  to  the  Minster 
under  guard  until  he  had  finished  the  work. 
But  whilst  he  apparently  completed  the  work, 
he  made  such  alterations  in  it  as  to  prevent  it 
from  going  longer  than  two  or  three  weeks  in 
some  parts  cf  it ;  he  moreover  told  them,  that 
if  they  confined  him  in  the  city  of  Strasburg, 
it  would  not  prevent  him  from  writing  to  .the 
inhabitants  -(I  think  of  Vienna  in  Germany) 
and  directing  them  how  to  perform  the  Work 
themselves.  When  they  discovered  the  pos- 
sibility of  his  doing  this,  they  cut  out  his  eyes 
to  prevent  him  from  writing,  and  confined  him 
;•;.; ua  in  prison,  where  he  died  a  short  time 
aft  jr  ;  his  corpse  .was  carried  forth  fronvprison 
und  interred  ;  his  funeral  was  much  honored 


20 

by  the  citizens  in  general,  though  pretendedly 
despised  by  the  Roman  Catholic  priests. 

But  to  return  to  my  former  employments  in 
Str-asburg ;  as  I  have  related,  they  were  all 
pleasant  and  entertaining,  and  could  any  thing 
have  made  me  contented  at  that  time  I  might 
have  found  it  here,  in  a  place  where  the  chief 
productions  of  the  soli  were  wheat  and  wine 
in  plenty,  with  a  variety  of  fruits,  united  with 
a  respectable  people  of  very  ar. liable  and  cour- 
teous deportment  ;  nevertheless,  the  planet 
which  directed  my  unfortunate  travels,  was 
just  beginning  its  most  energetic  influences; 
whereupon  my  ambition  for  seeing  new  coun- 
tries, and  for  acquiring  a  far  higher  degree  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  world,  began  to  make 
me  weary  and  discontented  in  this  best  of 
places  ;  accordingly  I  made  known  my  inten- 
tions to  my  sister  and  her  good  husband,  who 
used  all  their  influence  to  dissuade  me  from 
my  intentions,  but  all  to  no  purpose ;  I  re- 
mained fixed  in  my  determinations,  and  ac- 
cord ingly  I  prepared  for  my  journey  ;  and 
after  taking  an  affectionate  farewell !  of  ail  the 
family  and  my  new  acquaintances,  I  took  stage 
and  set  off  for  Basle  in  Switzerland,  leaving 
behind  me  the  pleasant  climes  of  Strasburg  to 
the  possession  of  all  its  happy  inhabitants. 
Thus,  on  the  19th  day  of  Dec.  in  the  fifteenth 
year  of  my  age,  I  took  my  departure  for  ex- 
ploring the  magnificent  cities  and  countries 
of  Europe,  and  after- an  impleasant  passage 
ef  ten  days,  I  arrived  in  Basle,  in  a  country 


convulsed  with  arms  and  mad  with  revolution- 
ary wars  !  Here  liberty  without  substance 
seems  to  be  the  order  of  the  day  ;  but  how 
this  will  end,  and  the  pretentious  of  the  French 
declaring  in  favour  of  their  liberty,  time  only, 
the  true  test  of  all  things,  will  determine. 
This  city  lies  on  the  river  Rhine,  about  24 
leagues  from  the  city  of  Strasburg  ;  not  entire- 
ly level,  but  conveniently  situated  for  trade  : 
merchandise  is  conveyed  to  and  from  this  city 
chiefly  by  land  carriages,  as  goods  cannot  be 
conveyed  by  water  but  in  small  craft,  such 
as  boats,  &.c.  Their  chief  advantage  in  trade 
is  to  and  from  Franckfort  of  Maine.  It  lies 
in  latitude  44  deg.  nearly ;  good  soil,  produ- 
ces chiefly  grain,  wine,  and  other  articles  of 
trade  common  with  the  European  countries  ; 
they  have  a  temperate  climate,  the  air  is  clear 
from  gross  contagious  diseases,  and  it  is  call- 
ed a  healthy  country;  their  language  is  Ger- 
man ;  their  religion  is  a  mixture  of  Protestant 
and  Roman  Catholic,  about  an  equal  number 
of  each ;  their  houses  are  built  of  wood  and 
stone,  in  the  common  form  of  buildings  in 
this  country  ;  the  streets  are  not  very  much  to 
be  praised  for  their  elegance,  being  mostly 
narrow  ;  it  lies  on  the  river  Rhine  ;  they  are 
generally  plain  in  their  dress  and  language  ; 
but  honest  and  well  meaning  people.  I  re- 
mained in  this  city  fourteen  days  ;  then  I  be- 
gan travelling  from  one  town  to  another 
through  the  fountains  of  Switzerland  seeking 
employment  at  my  trade  :  seven  weeks  passed 


m 

©flf  in  the  greatest  state  of  anxiety  and  wretch- 
edness !  during  which  time,  I  suffered  every 
hardship,  (death  excepted,)  which  human  na- 
ture was  capable  to  endure,  but  could  find  no 
employ  at  my  trade ;  and  now  my  money  be- 
ing gone,  famine  and  every  other  affliction 
attendant  on  a  state  of  poverty  stared  me  full 
iu  the  face  :  still  I  continued  travelling  until 
J  was  obliged  to  part  with  some  of  my  best 
clothing  to  get  me  a  pair  of  shoes,  and  a  tern- 
p-  -try  subsistence  :  oh  the  26th  day  of  the 
s?me  month  I  arrived  at  Newichatel,  thinking 
to  get  into  business  :  here  I  went  into  business 
of  the  worst  kind  imaginable,  seeking  employ, 
mcnt  but  finding  none,  no  not  the  least  encou- 
ragement ;  and  doubtless  owing  to  my  mean 
appearance  ;  having  b<ot*n,  a's  1  before  related, 
*  c  ;•  1  to  part  with  ,  ae  of  my  best  apparel ; 
1  Lud  not  a  coat,  e>  .,p  ting  one  suitable  for  the 
s^ar.iicr  season  ;  and  to  complete  my  misfor- 
tunes, as  I  was  passing  along  by  the  side  of  a 
Jak'j  not  far  distant,  on  a  sudden  a  gale  of  wind 
deprived  me  of  my  hat,  by  blowing  it  off  into 
the  water.  In  this  sad  and  dismal  plight  I 
entered  houses  and  shops,  seeking  lor  employ- 
ment, but  the  people  laughed  me  to  scorn, 
declaring  that  I  was  some  profligate  vagabond  : 
in  this  manner  they  scoffed  at  my  misery  and 
seemed  delighted  with  my  wretchedness.  It 
was  now  that  I  remembered  the  excellent  ad- 
vice of  my  beloved  sister  and  her  good  hus- 
band ;  and  it  was  now  that  I  v^shed  myself 
back  in  Strasburg  under  their  hospitable  roof: 


21 

but,  alas !  the  sad  difference !  almost  nakeii 
and  half  starved.  I  left  the  city  of  Ncwfchatcl 
for  Louisana.  Soon  after  my  departure>  the 
snow  began  to  fall  so  fast,  that  the  hean  «ie 
were  dark  over  me  ;  it  filled  all  the  path  which 
I  travelled  ;  I  was  alone  without  a  guide,  with- 
out money,  without  food,  without  clothing ; 
extreme  cold,  storm,  fear,  terrors,  and  confu- 
sion were  my  only  attendants  ;  the  reflection 
on  my  past  misfortunes  and  present  despicable 
situation,  created  in  me  a  wish  that  I  had  never 
been  born  !  but  it  is  impossible  for  wovJ.s  to 
declare,  or  those  who  have  not  experienced 
the  like  calamities,  to  conceive  the  melancholy 
situation  which  1  was  then  in  :  this  is  the 
situation  in  which  I  travelled  over  the  pathless 
mountains,  rallies,  and  forded  the  creeks  of 
Switzerland.  I  believe  for  about  twelve  or 
fifteen  miles  in  this  gloomy  and  distressing 
storm  I  travelled,  and  ascended  the  craggy 
rocks  and  deserts,  famished  with  hunger  and 
benumbed  with  cold,  until  I  saw  nothing  left 
but  to  lie  down  and  perish  !  Never  before  was 
I  so  well  able  to  prize  a  good  house,  and 
such  agreeable  accommodations  as  I  had  left 
in  Strasburg.  Here  I  would  give  one  word 
of  advice  to  y  -nth,  which  is,  that  they  always 
ask  counsel  of  the  wise  and  experienced,  espe- 
cially of  such  as  are  friends  not  only  to  decent 
and  virtuous  conduct,  but  of  such  as  are  well 
acquainted  with  the  world,  and  with  the  un- 
certain fort u'nos  of  a  travelling  life;  the  want 
<af  which  has  been  the  destruction  and- misery.  4)f 


thousands.  Perhaps  the  virtuous  part  of 
kind  are  read)  to  observe,  that  my  disobedience 
to  my  parents  when  I  left  Franckfort  of  Maine, 
produced  and  brought  on  these  unparralleled 
sufferings  ;  and  at  the  time  1  was  reluctantly- 
forced  to  reflect  on  my  misfortunes  in  this 
point  of  view  ;  and  I  verily  believe,  that  a 
disobedience  to  parents  and  the  moral  com- 
mands  of  superintendants,  brings  down  the 
severest  punishments  from  the  hand  of  the 
Supreme  Being ;  indeed  1  then  received  it  in 
this  point  of  light,  and  thought  that  my  sit- 
uation was  worse  than  death,  and  that  the  all- 
wise  disposer  of  every  circumstance  and  event, 
was  now  repaying  my  stubbornness  and  re- 
bellion against  them,  on  my  own  head  ;  and 
it  was  doubtless  the  case  ;  for  I  here  found  no 
relief,  until  I  applied  to  that  almigluy  being, 
whom  I  had  so  heedlessly  disregarded  before ; 
and  now,  in  this  distressing  situation,  I  tell 
down  on  rny  knees,  and  implored  heaven  to 
compassionate  my  unfortunate  case.  Just  as 
I  ended  my  prayer,  night  began  to  approach ; 
I  however  pursued  my  journey,  but  the  fa- 
tigue which  I  had  endured,  and  the  chill  pro- 
ceeding from  the  coldness  of  the  storm,  so 
overcame  me,  that  I  almost  despaired  of  seeing 
the  light  of  another  morning :  my  spirits  sunk 
within  me  !  I  expected  nothing  but  to  perish  ! 
and  consequently  to  die  a  miserable  death  ! 
Here  my  necessity  again  led  me  to  put  up 
another  petition  to  heaven  for  4^1ief,  and  the 
reader  will  naturally  conclude  that  my'  prayer 


25 

was  of  the  most  fervent  and  importunate  kird, 
as  it  really  was  :  I  think  that  if  in  any  thing  I 
was  ever  sincere  I  was  in  this  ;  I  then  travel- 
led on  a  few  rods,  and  turning  my  head  round 
I  espied  a  light  not  fur  off,  glimmering  through 
the  trees  ;  my  fainting  spirits  now  revived  ;  I 
concluded  that  heaven  had  condescended  to 
hear  my  request ;  I  took  immediate  courage  : 
yes,  hope  enkindled  joyful  surprise  at  my 
siidden  and  unexpected  deliverance  !  it  seemed 
as  if  designed  by  heaven  for  my  relief !  I  was 
so  overjoyed  that  it  appeared  something  like 
supernatural,  and  with  great  difficulty  I  made 
my  way  to  the  place  from  whence  the  light 
proceeded,  which  proved  to  be  the  cottage  of 
an  old  man.  I  made  my  way  to  the  door  of 
the  house  and  desired  admittance  ;  the  old 
gentleman  came  to  the  door  and  bid  me  come  ^ 
in  ;  I  immediately  entered,  and  was  seated  by 
the  fire  until  conveniently  warm,  after  which  he 
gave  me  the  best  refreshment  his  little  cottage 
could  afford.  After  supper  the  old  gentleman 
asked  me  many  questions,  by  what  accident  I 
came  hither,  Sec.  After  i  had  related  every 
material  circumstance  of  my  case,  he  seemed 
much  affected  with  my  sufferings  ;  I  then  took 
my  leave  of  the  hospitable  old  gentleman  for 
the  night,  and  repaired  to  the  lodging  which 
he  had  kindly  provided  for  my  rest,  with  the 
following  lines  strongly  impressed  on  rny 
mind, 


The  traveller  benighted  and  lost. 
Pursues  o'er  the  mountains  his  way  ; 

The  streams  are  all  landed  with  frost, 
And  the  icicle  -hangs  on  the  spray  ; 

He  wandered  about,  some  kind  shelter  to  find, 
Whilst  thro'  the  sharp  cold  he  was  blown. 

In  the  morning  I  enquired  of  my  kind  host 
the  direct  road  to  Louisaria ;  this  he  with 
much  civility  pointed  out  to  me,  but  still  re- 
questing me  to  tarry  with  him  longer  ;  this  I 
declined,  being  very  desirous  to  find  some 
employment  at  my  trade :  he  then  presented 
me  with  an  old  blanket  coat,  an  old  fashioned 
cocked  up  hat,  and  a  French  half  crown,  anc\ 
his  blessing  ;  he  then  gave  me  liberty  to  pro- 
ceed on  my  voyage.  I  returned  the  kind, 
benevolent,  and  hospitable  old  gentleman  ac- 
knowledgments for  all  his  'goodness  to  me 
during  my  short  stay  with  him,  and  bidding 
him  a  friendly  farewell,  set  off  for  Louisana. 
To  be  sure,  I  made  a  fine  appearance,  and 
would  have  affrighted  almost  any  thing  that 
was  human,  had  1  been  in  a  forest;  but  no- 
thing transpired  material,  and  on  the  same 
<Jay,  in  my  Harlequin  dress,  I  arrived  at  Lou- 
5 sana.  I  will  here  give  my  readers  some  short 
-account  of  this  city,  as  well  as  -of  Switzerland 
in  general. 

Switzerland  is  a  famous  Republic,  compos- 
ed of  states,  or  n.thcr  counties,  consisting  of 
thirteen  in  number,  each  having  a  separate 
government,  after  the  republican  form  ;,;  the 
country  is  rich,  and  productive  of  wi." 


•27 

manufactures  of  different  kinds ;  the  people 
are  tali,  hardy,  robust  and  industrious  even 
to  excess  : — their  country  in  its  infancy  was 
wild  and  barren,  but  by  their  industry  and 
economy  is  now  converted  into  beautiful  and 
fertile  fields.  The  Swiss  are  distinguished 
for  their  honesty  and  fidelity  in  all  their  deal- 
ings ;  none  excel  them  in  bravery ;  their 
chief  manufactures  are  cambricks,  calicoes, 
muslins,  siiks,  watches,  &x.  Great  quantities 
of  produce  are  raised  in  all  parts  of  this  coun- 
try ;  their  language  is  chiefly  German,  as  has 
been  before  related ;  Louisana  lies  in  lat.  45 
deg.  and  48  min.  north ;  the  longitude  I  do 
not  so  well  remember.  When  1  arrived  in 
this  cityj*.  I  traversed  the  streets  in  search  of 
employ,  and  was  at  last  directed  to  a  merchant 
taylor,  who  lived  in  a  very  elegant  brick  build- 
ing four  stories  high ;  *  when  1  entered  the 
house  the  singular  appearance  which  I  made 
with  my  new  coat  and  cocked  up  hat,  excited 
much  laughter  among  the  people  :  wlu  n  1  had 
mude  known  my  business,  the  master  of  the 
shop  said  he  would  employ  me  to  work  for 
him,  but  that  there  would  be  no  lodging  for 
me  in  his  house,  for  that  it  was  haunted  with 
evil  spirits,  &cc.  I  then  asked  him  if  he  could 
lodge  in  the  house  himself;  he  answered  me 
that  he  did  lodge  in  it ;  I  then  told  him  that 
if  he  could  lodge  in  it  I  could  also  ;  for  1  feared 
neither  the  devil  or  any  of  his  angels,  accord- 
injjy  after  some  time  had  passed,  and  much 
conversation  had  closed  the  subject,  it  was 


that  I  should  sleep  in  the'  house  thitt 
night  for  trial,  and  he  lighted  me  to  Ixd  ;  but 
before  he  left  me,  insisted  on  treating  me  with 
a  bottle  of  wine  ;  then  laking  the  candle  in  his 
hand  he  bid  me  farewell,  saying,  perhaps  I 
shnll  never  see  you  alive  again,  i  went  to  bed, 
but  not  very  well  contented,  and  to  tell  the 
truth,  I  wf\$  soraewhat  intimidated,  and  often 
laid  very  still  iad  silent  to  hear.  About  twelve 
o'clock,  i  heard  a.  noise  of  thunder,  and  saw 
fcibhes  of  lightning  in  the  house ;  this  so  ter- 
d  me  and 'shook  my  resolution,  that  I  was 
lost  in  surprise,  a*'»d  scarcely  knew  where  I 
Vi'uS  for  a  lew  minutes  ;  I  sprang  out  of  my 
Lkd,  and  ran  to  the  head  of  the  stairs,  there  I 
was  met  by  a  cask  (vvliich  came  thundering 
down  over  another  pair  of  stairs  above,)  that 
ne  immediately  down  on  the  floor, 
d  that  my  former  boasting  was  but 
talk  only,  and  that  (as  the  common  phrase  is) 
doing  was  the  naked  truth.  1  had  formerly 
played  with  .the  notion  that  there  was  a  Devif,, 
but  I  was  now  much  afraid  that  I  had  been 
mistaken,  and  was  so  terrified,  that  I  eried 
murder  with  a  voice  as  loud  and  shrill  as  pos- 
sible :  however,  the  way  was  passable  down 
stairs  ;  thence  I  made  my  escape,  and  ac- 
quainted the  people  of  the  occasion  of  my 
fright ;  having  some  jealousy  still,  that  they 
were  too  passive  and  easy  to  be  wholly  igno- 
rant of  this  business  ;  but  they  affirmed  that 
they  had  no  hand  in  the  business,  and  repre- 
sented to  me,  that  it  was  something  super- 


natural,  and  had  happened  almost  every  night : 
I  then  said,  if  that  be  the  case  I  will  return 
once  more,  whether  they  be  good  spirits  or 
evil  ones  ;  they  endeavoured  to  dissuade  me 
from  my  purpose,  by  every  forcible  argument, 
that  I  might  loose  my  life,  &c.  but  the  result 
was  I  was  determined  to  know,  whatever  might 
be  the  consequence,  whether  there  was  just 
cause  for  my  fears  or  not.  I  then  took  a  light- 
ed candle  in  my  hand  and  proceeded  up  the 
same  stairs  I  came  down,  and  from  thence  pro- 
ceeded up  the  garret  stairs, — where  I  found 
the  master  of  the  house,  and  the  machinery 
with  which  he  had  caused  the  thunder  and 
lightning.  I  demanded  of  him  his  reasons  for 
making  such  a  noise  to  frighten  strangers  ;  he 
then  told  me  as  follows  ;-— this  house,  said  he, 
v/as  lately  owned  by  a  noted  miser,  who  took 
all  advantages  of  making  property,  by  extor- 
tion, and  grinding  the  faces  of  the  poor ;  this 
miser  has  lately  died,  and  this  house  is  to  be 
sold  in  a  few  days  at  public  sale  -.---that  he  had 
done  all  this,  in  order  to  infuse  into  the  minds 
of  the  people  a  belief  that  the  house  was  haunt- 
ed;  so  great  is  the  superstition  of  this  part  of 
the  country,  that  such  pranks  have  great  wci 
with  the  ignorant  and  deluded  populace  ;  he 
said  farther,  that  he  intended  to  buy  the  house 
himself,  as  nobody  would  bid  against  him,  and 
consequently  it  would  full  to  him  a  dead  bar- 
gain :  he  then  offered  me  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  to  keep  the  secret  to  myself,  and  assist 
him  in  his  undertaking,  which  I  promised  to 
e  2 


30 

do ;  the  bargain  being  finished  and  the  plan 
laid,  I  returned  to  my  chamber.  I  ought  to 
have  mentioned  there  was  given  me  (when  I 
went  to  bed)  a  candle  and  a  sword,  which  I 
had  dropped  in  my  fright  at  the  foot  of  the  gar- 
ret stairs ;  this  candle  I  newly  alighted,  took 
my  sword,  and  proceeded  into  the  chamber, 
and  from  the  front  window  cried  murder  !  and 
fire  !  with  all  the  force  in  my  power.  He  kept 
still  in  the  garret,  until  I  had  collected  one  half 
the  city  ;  they  came  running  in  great  haste  in- 
to the  house ;  but  when  these  deluded  people 
heard  the  artificial  thunder  and  saw  the  flashes 
of  lightning,  they  were  as  much  terrified  at  it 
as  1  was  at  first,  and  retreated  in  great  haste 
and  confusion  ;  I  followed  them  with  prayers 
and  intreaties  to  come  and  deliver  me,  and 
as  I  appeared  to  them  as  one  going  into  con- 
vulsions, and  in  danger  of  immediate  death, 
some  of  them  put  on  courage,  made  one  vio- 
lent effort,  and  venturing  into  the  chamber, 
took  hold  of  me  and  carried  me  out :  they  im- 
mediately reported  the  terrible  and  frightful 
scene  of  horror  which  they  had  witnessed,  and 
were  readily  believed  by  the  credulous  and 
bigotted  Swiss,  who  place  implicit  faith  in  all 
manner  of  necromancy.  The  merchant  taylor 
soon  after  purchased  the  haunted  house  which 
was  worth  about  six  thousand  dollars,  for  nine 
hundred ;  he  paid  me  the  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  according  to  agreement. 

I  now  bought  me  decent  wearing  apparel, 
and  felt  an  inclination  increase  once  more  to 


31 

travel ;  that  I  might  learn  more  of  the  world  ; 
my  mind  was  ?olely  bent  on  seeing  new  coun- 
tries and  new  things  :  this  may  appear  strange 
to  one  whose  chief  happiness  consists  in  eating 
always  of  his  own  bread  and  warming  himself 
by  his  own  fire  ;  but,  it  must  be  remembered, 
that  the  general  voice  of  the  people  in  all  coun- 
tries is,  recommending  a  knowledge  of  the 
world  to  the  youth  ;  and  the  natural  propensity 
of  my  heart  caught  fire  at  every  expression  of 
this  kind,  and  life  seemed  to  me  as  of  no  value 
whilst  I  must  spend  my  days  in  a  corner  :  but 
I  did  not  see  the  slavery  that  attended  it :  all 
that  I  had  undergone  before  in  travelling  ap- 
peared as  nothing  ;  but  go  I  must,  hazarding 
life  with  all  its  domestic  pleasures  and  happi- 
ness for  this  one  great  and  noble  attainment,  a 
great  part  of  which  has  been  very  much  like 
the  wise  man's  experience,  nothing  but  vanity 
and  vexation  of  spirit.  Howbeit,  I  proceeded 
and  bought  me  a  horse,  and  every  thing  else 
to  complete  a  full  equipage  fitted  for  my  jour- 
ney, and  on  the  29th  day  of  February,  1796, 
I  left  Louisana,  and  with  it  all  the  fine  country 
of  Switzerland  ;  a  country  in  which  I  had  un- 
dergone many  hardships  and  severe  trials  ;  and 
having  suffered  so  much  in  my  travels  there, 
nothing  appeared  pleasant  and  inviting  enough 
to  fix  my  attention  sufficiently  to  spend  with 
them  one  week  longer :  accordingly  I  bid  a 
final  farewell  to  my  small  number  of  associates., 
and  gladly  set  off  for  Andoverin  Italy. 


32 

I  arrived  at  Andover,  after  a  pleasant  jour- 
ney, on  the  24th  day  of  March  following.  I 
was  now  once  more  a  stranger  in  a  strange 
land,  ignorant  of  the  language,  modes  or  cus- 
toms of  the  inhabitants  :  here  the  people,  as 
well  as  in  Switzerland,  are  superstitious  in  the 
extreme  ;  and  far  more  tenacious  and  jealous, 
of  their  forms  of  religion,  and  of  every  thing 
else  which  have  any  connexion  with  it ;  and 
yet  they  seem  to  be  very  little  influenced  in 
their  morals  by  the  principles  which  they  pro- 
fess ;  and  I  have  generally  observed,  that  the 
more  tenacious  any  denomination  of  people 
are,  of  the  dry  forms  and  ceremonies  of  reli- 
gious exercises,  the  less  sincerity  appears  in 
their  profession  :  they  soon  found  that  I  little 
regarded  their  cases  of  conscience,  doing  pen- 
ance, praying  souls  out  of  purgatory,  &c.  but 
they  boon  began  to  despise  me  in  their  turn  : 
they  are  called  remarkable  for  their  address, 
affability  and  generosity  to  strangers ;  but  I 
conceive  it  must  be  to  such  as  are  of  their 
sentiments,  and  accord  with  their  superstitious 
religion.  Nevertheless,  it  must  be  acknowledg- 
ed that  Italy  must  be  considered  as  a  rival  or 
superior  to  any  kingdom  in  Europe  for  many 
things  ;  her  architecture,  painting,  sculpture, 
magnificent  cities,  elegant  palaces,  and  lofty 
towers,  are  so  many  monuments  of  her  fame  ! 
Rome,  the  capital  of  Italy,  lies  in  lat.  41  deg. 
and  54  inin.  North  latitude,  and  12  deg.  and 
45  min.  East  longitude.  I  felt  such  an  aver- 
sion to  the  inhabitants  of  this  country?  that  I. 


determined  my  stay  should  be  very  short  with 
them  ;  and  in  three  days  set  off  and  left  them, 
with  a  view  of  going  to  Marseilles  in  France, 
at  which  place  1  arrived  on  the  24ih  dav  of 
April :  but  as  a  farther  description  of  Italy, 
may  be  pleasing  to  some  of  my  readers,  I 
add,  the  Italians  are  said  to  be  about  twenty 
millions  ;  many  things  have  been  said  concern- 
ing these  atalians,  and  often  very  contradic- 
tory ;  the  settled  boundaries  of  this  nation  are 
fixed  far  towards  the  East  and  South  West 
bv  the  Adriatic  and  the  Mediterranean  seas; 
and  Northward  it  is  bounded  by  the  high  and 
lofty  mountains  called  the  Alps ;  this  long 
chain  of  mountains  begia  at  the  river  Var, 
and  run  an  irregular  course,  with  many  wind- 
ings, and  end  near  the  river  Arsia ;  they 
divide  Italy  from  France,  Switzerland  and 
German}"  ;-  the  principal  mouutuins  of  It:V!y 
are  the  Alps,  which  iTKike  the  separation  above 
mentioned  ;  one  of  the  principal  and  most  re- 
markable rivers  in  Italy  is  the  Po,  a  river  as 
rapid  as  any  im  the  world  ;  it  takes  its  rise 
near  mount  Rese,  the  highest  of  all  the  Alps ; 
and  after  receiving  upwards  of  thirt)  small 
rivers,  discharges  itself  into  the  Adriatic  by 
seven  different  mouths  :  the  Aduige  also  rises, 
out  of  the  mountains  called  the  Apennines,  at 
a  small  'distance  from  the  great  capital,  the, 
famous  city  of  Rome,  and  empties  itself  into "A 
the  Tuscan  sea  :  there  are  other  rivers  in  Italy 
of  lesser  note.  Italy  produces  all  the  necessit- 
ies of  life  in  great  plenty  ;  and  all  the  luxuries 


34 

of  the  old  and  new  world,  which  are  so  mucii 
admired  by  travellers,  are  to  be  found  here  in 
abundance  ;  these  consist  of  corn  and  other 
grain,  the  richest  of  wines,  and  the  most  choice 
fruits,  such  as  citrons,  oranges,  olives,  prunes, 
raisins,  almonds,  sugar,  oils  and  mulberries  in 
the  greatest  profusion  :  their  manufactures 
consist  of  silk  in  great  abundance,  gold,  silver, 
iron,  sulphur  and  elastic.  The  original  lan- 
guage of  the  Italians  is  derived  from  the  latin 
language,  which  is  the  same  spoken  by  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  Rome  ;  but  being  mix- 
ed with  the  Goths  and  Huns,  it  has  so  ming- 
led the  language,  that  it  is  almost  reduced  to 
a  kind  of  jargon  ;  but  by  the  labors  of  the 
refilled  and  polished,  it  is  now  brought  to  a 
proper  standard  For  ages  past  Italy  has  been 
the  seat  of  convulsions,  wars,  and  bloodshed  ! 
many  have  been  the  throes  and  eruptions  of 
this  nation  !  It  was  invaded  by  the  Carthagi- 
nians, led  on  by  the  famous  generals,  Hanni- 
bal Charlemagne,  and  Francis  the  First;  but 
above  all,  arid  more  than  all  the  others,  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte  has  covered  the  soil  of  Italy 
with  human  blood  !  in  contending  for  its 
dominions. 

In  this  place  I  sold  my  horse,  and  worked  at 
my  trade  two  months  ;  after  which,  on  June 
the  14th,  I  left  Marseilles  and  took  my 
journey  on  loot  for  Bordeaux,  where  with 
much<lifficuity,  not  being  accustomed  to  tra- 
velling on  foot,  I  arrived  July  the  14tb-  Here 
I  tarried  but  three  weeks,  seeking  for  employ- 


35 

ment  hut  found  none  ;  my  stock  of  money 
being  by  this  time  nearly  exhausted,  I  felt 
somewhat  uneasy  and  discontented ;  but  it 
happened  that  as  I  was  one  day  walking  with  a 
friend  of  mine,  we  met  a  master  taylor,  to 
whom  my  friend  introduced  me  as  a  good 
workman,  and  with  him  I  got  employ  tor 
two  wet  ks,  in  which  time  1  saved  some  mo- 
ney, for  my  necessities  before  had  taught  me 
now  to  be  very  sparing  of  what  I  earned ;  but 
to  do  this  I  was  obliged  to  keep  myself  out  of 
almost  all  kinds  of  what  they  called  civil  com- 
pfany.  Bordeaux  is  a  large  and  flourishing 
city  ;  it  is  a  sea- port,  and  a  place  of  the  greatest 
trade  of  any  in  France. 

I  left  this  place  on  the  22d  day  of  August, 
and  pursued  my  journey  towards  Paris.  I 
travelled  a  very  dry  and  sandy  road  ;  the  wea- 
ther also  proved  extremely  hot,  and  I  was  very 
uncomfortable ;  my  feet  blistered,  my  money 
was  expended,  and  famine  once  more  stared 
me  in  the  face  !  I  travelled  two  days  without 
any  subsistence  but  water,  and  once  in  a  while 
a  raw  turnip,  a  few  grapes,  and  such  vegeta- 
bles as  I  found  by  the  road,  and  in  the  fields 
by  the  way -side.  The  case  of  the  French  na» 
tion  at  this  time  Was  very  distressing,  and  to 
mention  one  thing  which  may  be  ranked 
amongst  many,  is-  the  allowance  of  bread 
\vhic! .  was  given  to  every  family  according  to 
the  national  allowance;  the  property,  provision, 
smd  every  thing  else,  was  in  the  hands  of  gov* 
c-rnment,  and  the  nation  experienced  a  tin?.- 


30 

-vo^sai  scarcity;  one  ounce  of  bread  only  was* 
allowed  to  every  person  ;  so  that  if*  there  was 
a  family  of  ten  persons,  they  were  allowed  but 
ten  ounces  of  bread  each  day,  and  provision 
of  every  kind  was  scarce ;  but  this  is  well 
known  to  those  who  have  read  the  history  of 
th*:'  Revolution  ;  hunger,  at  last,  that  messen- 
ger that  unbolts  every  lock,  would  bear  off 
no  longer,  and  I  was  obliged  to  implore  the 
assistance  of  the  generous  peasantry  for  relief; 
for  hunger  by  this  time  had  worn  me  down 
to  such  a  degree,  that  I  was  almost  exhausted 
of  strength  and  ability  to  travel ;  at  length  I 
came  to  a  farmer's  house  hard  by  the  way; 
I  approached  the  door,  and  told  the  good  wo- 
man my  situation,  and  entreated  her  compas- 
sion for  a  little  food,  but  she  cast  on  me  a  dis- 
dainful look,  and  said  that  she  had  nothing 
for  herself;  and  probably  she  told  very  near 
the  truth,  for  I  doubt -if  she  had  much  ;  such 
was  the  situation  of  the  miserable  inhabitants 
at  this  period  of  the  revolution :  as  I  stepped 
out  of  the  door  of  the  house,  I  found  a  crust 
of  bread,  which  I  took  up  and  soaked  in  wa- 
ter and  eat  it  up  with  as  good  an  appetite  as 
ever  1  eat  the  best  of  food,  although  it  was 
extremely  hard  and  doubtless  had  laid  there 
for  days  ;  such  is  the  extremities  of  hunger 
with  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  famish  ing 
country  :  the  night  however  soon  came  on,  and 
I  was  compelled  to  take  up  my  lodging  under 
the  covert  of  a  tree,  where  the  heavens  only 
were  my  covering,  and  the  cold  ground  my 


37 

bed  of  rest ;  after  a  hard  night's  lodging  here, 
I  arose  and  pursued  my  journey  toward  Paris, 
the  capital  of  France,  There  I  soon  arrived 
in  my  destitute  situation,  on  1st  Sept.  1796  ; 
here  again  I  found  myself  surrounded  with 
great  and  magnificent  buildings !  riches  in 
abundance,  and  an  immense  people  ;  but  I 
was  pining  for  want  of  food,  and  entirely  des- 
titute of  friends  ;  here  I  went  into  MI  inn,  and 
began  to  inquire  for  business,  and  was  direct- 
ed to  a  merchant  tn  lor  in  the  city;  here  I 
caUed  for  food  and  lodging,  but  h  id  nothing 
to  pay,  though  I  had  cut"  uragtmrnt  that  I 
should  soon  be  able  to  get  some  by  my  la- 
bour;  there  was  also  one  quarter  of  a  dollar 
due  to  the  man  who  directtd  me  to  this  place, 
for  his  labour  in  conveying  me  in  his  carriage 
to  this  inn,  and  he  being  an  inhabitant  of  a  c'»s- 
tant  part  of  the  city,  would  insist  on  having 
his  money  paid  immediately  ;  I  hnd  no  face  to 
ask  him  to  credit  me  five,  minutes  ;  how  to 
pay  him  I  did  not  know,. and  being  put  to  my 
word  hard,  and  in  a  great  strait  for  my  char- 
acter in  promising  to  pay  money  when  1  had 
not  one  cent  about  me,  nor  knew  where  I 
could  get  any,  brought  me  to  a  nonplus  ;  if 
I  had  made  known  my  destitute  situation  to 
the  inn- holder,  1  conjectured  for  certain  that 
he  would  have  disdained  to  relievelme  ;  and 
making  fiction  answer  for  reality,  I  immedi- 
ately made  myself  appear  affluent  and  full  of 
money  ;  called  for  a  bottle  of  wine,  supper 
and  lodging ;  after  which  I  informed  the  good 

T) 


host,  that  I  had  no  small  money  in  my  pocket, 
-and  would  thank  him  for  the  use  of  a  quarter 
of  a  dollar  a  short  time,  until  I  could  get  some 
mo  ey  changed  ;  this  being  expressed  with 
a  high  and  princely  sound,  and  feigning  a  ma- 
jestic appearance,  it  answered  just  to  my 
wishes ;  he  immediately  answered,  yes,  as 
much  as  you  want,  if  it  be  ten  dollars.  I  tar- 
ried with  this  gentleman  until  the  next  morn- 
ing, and  after  breakfast,  he  went  with  me  to 
the  merchant,  tay  lor  to  whom  he  had  formerly 
recommended  me,  and  after  having  agreed  to 
work  with  him,  I  told  him,  that  there  was  my 
expences  yet  due  to  my  good  host  for  my  en- 
tertainment, that  a  piece  of  gold  which  I  did 
not  well  li^e  to  have  changed  into  small 
money,  was  the  smallest  piece  that  I  had  by 
ine,  would  therefore  thank  him  to  settle  my 
'small  ex  pence  and  place  it  to  my  account; 
this  request  he  readily  granted  ;  I  immedi- 
ately went  to  work,  and  found  him  generous, 
courteous,  kind  and  affectionate  ;  he  proved 
an  excellent  acquaintance ;  I  tarrit  d  with  him 
eighteen  months  in  this  large  and  flourishing 
city  :  here  is  the  residence  of  the  rich,  the 
brave  and  the  lenrned  ;  here  by  my  industry 
ar.fi  frugality,  I  was  soon  able  to  restore  my 
e'othing;  but  my  employer  always  treated  me 
with  the  greatest  friendship,  and  bis  family 
conducted  toward  me  with  the  greatest  res- 
pect and  familiarity  ;  and  recommended  by 
?nv  generous  employer.  1  b;.<i  rhc  honour  of 
-being  admitted  to  the  acquaintance  of  several 


39 

very  respectable  gentlemen  in  the  city,  all  of 
whom  favored  me  with  their  friendship  ;  when, 
there  was  an  opportunity  and  agreeable  weath- 
er, I  often  passed  away  a  leisure  hour  in  view- 
ing the  novelties  and  curiosities  of  the  city  ; 
I  here  enjoyed  myself  with  more  satisfaction 
than  ever  I  enjoyed  any  part  of  my  life  ;  the 
road  is  said  to  be  long  that  has  no  turn,  my 
friends  were  increasing  in  the  city,  people  of 
note  and  fortune  favored  me  with  their  salu- 
tations :  my  credit  now  flowed  with  ripidity 
and  gained  fast ;  then  I  thought  that  it  might 
be  advantageous  to  set  up  for  myself,  but  the 
difficulties  attending,  where  a  person  must  go 
chiefly  on  credit,  and  where  I  could  not  com- 
maud  a  capital  of  my  own,  eventually  discour- 
aged my  plan  :  I  therefore  thought,  that  it 
would  be  safe  to  defer  it,  until  I  could  pro- 
ceed on  surer  grounds  ;  seeing  the  necessity 
of  more  property,  I  offered  myself  as  foreman 
in  the  royal  palace,  so  called,  i.  e.  a  place  of 
great  trade  and  filled  with  stores  and  hotels  ; 
it  is  one  of  the  finest  places  in  Paris  :  to  this 
employment  I  was  recommended  to  Mr.  Hoff- 
man, one  of  my  own  countrymen,  and  with 
him  I  agreed  as  master  workman  of  his  shop  : 
I  shall  now  mention  some  things  concerning 
this  gentleman,  he  was  a  man  nearly  sixty 
years  of  age,  and  his  wife,  Mrs.  Hoffman,  a 
young  woman  of  twenty -four  years  of  age; 
she  was  both  handsome  and  insinuating,  and 
given  much  to  pleasure  and  high  life  ;  she 
was  brought  up  and  educated  in  this  great  and 


40 

dissipated  city,  and  consequently  was  much 
like  to  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants,  given  up  to 
all  kinds  of  luxury,  passion,  and  dissipation, 
as  will  be  more  fully  seen  in  the  following 
sheets.  It  will  not  be  amiss  here,  to  give  some 
account  of  the  inhabitants  and  a  general  des- 
cription of  the  city.  Paris  is  divided  into  three 
p;srts  ;  the  first  part  is  called  the  Old  City, 
the  second  the  University,  and  the  third  the 
Town  ;  which  third  part,  is  in  the  middle  of 
the  city.  ,^The  University  and  the  Town  are 
called  New- Paris,  containing  more  works  of 
magnificence  and  grandeur  than  profit  and  util- 
ity :  some  of  its  palaces  are  showy  and  splen- 
did ;  and  some  of  .its  streets,  squares,  hospi- 
tals and  churches  are  superbly  decorated  with 
a  profusion  of  paintings,  tapestry  and  images  : 
in  the  Thuilleries  there  are  yet  standing  hun- 
dreds of  statues,  representing  kings,  queens, 
generals,  princes,  statesmen,  Indians,  and  al- 
most every  thing  else  which  can  decorate  and 
agrandize  the  great  capital :  but  what  appears 
the  most  extraordinary,  is  the  tapestry  of  the 
gobelines,  of  unequalled  and  unparalleled 
beauty  !  in  the  palace  of  the  Thuilleries  are 
to  be  seen  the  valuable  collection  of  superb 
ornaments  which  were  brought  from  Rome  ; 
like  the  history  of  ancient  ages,  they  have 
changed  their  places,  and  taken  their  residence 
in  another  kingdom  ;  have  beautified  them- 
selves bv  being  transported  to  France  :  they 
coii^t  of  paintings  brought  from  Rome,  and 
other  parts  of  Europe,  during  the  wars  of 


41 

France  under  the  reign  of  the  present  Empe- 
ror, Napoleon  Bonaparte.  The  library,  the 
guiided  hall,  and  the  royal  hospital  for  invalids, 
are  superb ;  the  streets  of  Paris  arf:  mostly 
very  narrow  and  crooked  ;  the  houses vare  very 
high,  many  of  them  seven  stories :  in  Paris 
there  are  many  coaches  and  hacks  which  daz- 
zle the  eyes  to  behold  ;  they  are  employ- 
ed chiefly  by  strangers  ;  and  in  fact,  the 
greatest  part  of  the  trade  in  Paris  arises  from 
the  influx  of  foreigners  that  frequent  this 
great  metropolis.  France  is  situated  between 
70  and  83  deg.  East  longitude,  and  4:2  deg. 
and  51  North  latitude  ;  it  is  six  hundred  miles 
long,  and  five  hundred  and  sixty  miles  broad  ; 
its  climate  in  general  is  mild  and  healthy,  and 
its  soil  is  excellent,  and  produces  almost  every 
luxury  of  life  in  abundance  :  there  are  some 
mountains  in  France  of  particular  note  ;  those 
are  the  Pyrennees  in  the  South  and  in  the 
West,  which  are  the  greatest  iri  France ;  the 
principal  rivers  are  the  Loire,  the  Rhone  and: 
Seine,  which  latter  runs  through  the  middle 
of  Paris  ;  and  two  others,  all  which  are  large 
and  navigable.  The  religion  and  language  of: 
France  differ  but  little  from  the  capital,  the 
eity  of  Paris  ;  their  religion,  wuh  few  excep- 
tions, is  Roman  Catholic,  and  their  language 
is  latia  and  German  chiefly,  and  one  of  the 
most  universal  of  the  living  languages,  and  is 
calculate,:!  rather  to  express  familiar  sentiments 
than  sublime.  The  arcs  an 3  sciences  in  France 
ka\c  not  been  so  far  cultivated,  as  in  some 


42 

other  parts  cf  Europe ;  the  reason  of  which 
is,  the  many  wars  and  revolutions  both  do- 
mestic and  foreign,  in  which  they  have  been 
engaged ;  we  may  witness  the  present  calam- 
ities, -the  devastation  and  destruction  that  has 
issued  and  sprung  forth  from  the  last  revolu- 
tion which  commenced  in  1790  ;  and  instead 
cf  being  brought  to  a  crisis,  and  settled  in  a 
peaceable  and  liberal  government,  they  seem 
almost  ripe  for  a  new  one  to  burst  forth  on  the 
heads  of  their  posterity ;  and  although  they 
have  of  late  destroyed  and  trampled  on  every 
thing  sacred  and  moral,  yet  it  must  with  jus- 
tice be  said  of  the  French  nation,  that  it  has 
produced  men  of  very  eminent  talents  ;  some 
of  them  have  been  men  of  great  military  skill. 
But  to  return, — I  had  not  been  long  at  Mr. 
Hoffman's,  before  his  lady  began  to  frequent 
the  work  shop,  which  it  was  said  she  v/as  not 
known  to  do  before  ;  and  on  a  certain  day,  in 
the  afternoon,  she  gave  me  an  invitation  to 
take  tea  with  her  ;  I  immediately  refused,  but 
after  pressing  me  some  time,  and  saying  that 
it  was  Mr.  Hoffman's  request  also. 1 1  consent- 
ed and  went ;  but  was  surprised  to  find  none 
at  table  but  ourselves  :  this  handsome  and  well 
bred  lady  discoursed  with  great  freedom  and 
an  unusual  degree  of  sociability  ;  but  as  the 
passion  of  love  had  never  entered  my  heart, 
and  withal  concluding  that  it  was  either  the 
fashion  of  the  place,  or  the  general  disposition 
of  the  women,  I  took  no  particular  notice  of 
her  familiarity  for  that  time.  The  next  day 


43 

she  came  into  the  shop  as  before,  and  invited 
me  to  take  tea  a  second  time  ;  I  consented, 
and  now  she  treated  me  with  more  boldness 
and  famliarity  than  before  ;  several  days  pass- 
ed off  in  the  same  manner ;  and  I  soon  per- 
ceived that  her  fondness  for  rie  increased  : 
she  invited  me  into  the  different  apartments  of 
her  house,  and  into  her  bed  chamber,  and 
shewed  me  the  costly  and  shining  furniture  ; 
adding",  these,  sir,  are  all  mine,  not  Hoffman's  ; 
and  in  many  expressions,  there  seemed  so 
many  strong  intimations  (not  necessary  here 
to  trouble  the  reader  with  particulars)  that 
they  cou'd  not  be  passed  by  unnoticed  ;  and 
caught  in  the  snare  of  fatal  and  unlawful  pass- 
ion, I  too  soon  fell  before  its  destructive  influ- 
ence !  Destructive  !  I  say,  and  which  ended  in 
loss  of  property,  fear,  shame,  and  imprison- 
ment ;  if  we  had  not  been  too  often  influenced 
by  the  same  principles  which  led  us  at  first  to 
make  this  unjust  and  illegal  connexion,  I 
should  have  had  more  excuse  for  the  fault ; 
but  being  cast  on  the  scale  of  temptation,  by 
first  giving  place  to  the  delusive  enchantment, 
it  is  hard  telling  where  the  progression  will 
end ;  there  is  no  evil  habit  which  a  man  may 
give  himself  up  to,  that  ever  grows  weaker 
by  a  continuance  in  if,  but  on  the  contrary 
increases  its  strength  under  the  habit : — -this 
is  probably  the  case  with  all  the  principles  and 
habits  of  virtue,  as  far -as  I  can  learn  either 
from  my  own  or  other  men's  experience  :  this 
was,  however,  the  case  with  myself,  as  the 


44 

following  lines  will  disclose.  Two  or  three 
months  passed  on,  when,  instead  of  being 
convinced  of  the  wickedness  and  folly  of  our 
proceedings,  she  proposed  to  leave  Mr.  Hoff- 
man and  spend  the  remainder  of  her  days  with 
me ;  and  it  appeared  that  she  did  not  much 
relish  the  company  of  the  venerable  old  gen- 
tleman ;  such,  reader,  are  the  fatal  effects  of 
parent's  desires  after  riches  for  their  children 
in  their  marriages  ;  for  to  say  the  best  oi  this 
match,  it  was  imprudently  made,  as  there  was 
near  40  years  differeirce  in  their  ages.  She 
was  a  great  limner,  and  would  paint  many 
things  to  the  life  ;  and  often  kept  U^r  paint- 
ings by  her  side,  in  order  that  if  any  question 
was  put  why  she  was  in  her  chamber  so  often, 
that  she  was  employed  in  painting :  she  pre- 
tended to  instruct  me  in  the  French  language, 
but  the  business  was  but  a  pretention,  as  the 
reader  will  judge  :  I  suspected  that  her  hus- 
band had  some  notion  or  jealousy  of  our  famil- 
iarities, and  accordingly  mentioned  it  to  his 
lady,  and  told  her  that  1  conceived  it  was 
wisdom  for  us  to  desist ;  but  this  only  redded 
fuel  to  the  fire  of  her  passions.  I  then  men- 
tioned, that  there  was  reason  to  suspect  that 
all  was  on  the  verge  of  discovery  by  her  hus- 
band, and  that  he  was  probably  only  waiting 
for  full  and  demonstrative  evidence  of  the 
facts ;  and  if  so  a  fire  would  soon  be  kindled 
that  never  would  be  extinguished  :  this  I  did, 
in  hopes  to  gain  her  full  consent  to  relinquish 
and  forsake  that,  which  might  eventually  be 


the  destruction  of  us  both  !  But  it  was  no 
sooner  mentioned  than,  as  before,  she  backed 
those  objections  with  other  arguments  which 
she  had  deemed  conclusive,  although  they  did 
not  satisfy  me,  nor  banish  the  perplexing  fears 
which  continually  troubled  my  breast.  I  saw 
that  I  was  the  person  who  was  the  most  in 
danger  of  the  evil  consequences  which  might 
flow  from  this  unlawful  intercourse,  therefore 
I  used  every  possible  argument  which  might 
tend  to  moderate  her  desires  ;  and  when  she 
had  time  to  consider  and  adjust  the  arguments, 
she  seemed  more  composed  and  resigned. 
The  reader  may  think  that  I  was  acquainted 
with  a  person  of  singular  character  ;  to  this, 
I  answer,  that  she  was  never  before  esteemed 
as  wanting  virtue  ;  but  we  must  remember, 
that  circumstances  alter  cases,  and  Mrs.  Hoff- 
man probably  justified  herself  by  this  consid- 
eration, that  her  case  was  singular,  and  differ- 
ent from  that  of  most  others ;  her  parents 
having  pressed  her  into  marriage,  entirely 
against  and  contrary  to  her  own  will  and  incli- 
nation ;  and  for  my  part,  if  I  should  give  my 
opinion  on  a  subject  of  such  a  delicate  nature 
as  this,  it  would  be  that  parents  advise  their 
children,  and  give  reason  why  they  so  advise, 
and  then  leave  them  to  their  own  choice  ; 
they  certainly  know  best  where  the  shoe  pinch- 
es that  wear  it ;  and  they  only  ought  to  de- 
termine what  dispositions  will  best  accord  with 
their  own.  And  again ;  who  shall  have  the 
right  of  choosing, for  me  a  companion  that 


46 

shall  attend  my  steps  in  all  the  most  important 
concerns  of  this  and  a  future  world,  and  have 
their  influence  in  directing  my  happiness  or 
misery,  for  years  after  their  heads  are  laid  in 
the  dust!  I  answer  none;  but  this  still  did 
not  justify  me  in  acquiescing  in  things  subser- 
vient to  the  prejudice  and  passions  of  another. 
However,  fortune  still  seemed  to  favor  me, 
for  about  this  time,  on  a  certain  day,  as  I  was 
carrying  a  suit  of  clothes  to  a  gentleman  in  a 
distant  part  of  the  citv,  I  accidental!}  passed 
by  a  lottery  office,  as  they  were  drawing  the 
lottery  ;  the  owners  of  tickets  undrawn,  ,>nr- 
suaded  me  to  purchase  one  of  them,  which  on 
the  same  day  came  out  of  the  wheel  a  prize  of 
two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  I  returned 
kome  and  informed  Mr.  Hoffman  and  his 
lady  of  my  good  fortune;  they  both  express- 
ed themselves  in  terms  very  pleasing  and  flat- 
ter-ing at  my  fortunate  adventure  and  advance- 
ment;  and  in  a  few  days,  he  proposed  to  t-»ke 
me  into  partnership  with  him  in  ail  his  busi- 
ness. I  now  gladly  accepted  of  his  proposals, 
well  knowing  that  I  could  very  easily  advance 
my  capital  with  but  little  trouble,  for  he  had 
a  good  run  of  custom,  besides  a  very  genteel 
stand  for  new  customers  and  public  business. 
Accord i.ngly  we  proceeded  and  entered  on  a 
large  scale. in  his  line  of  business. 

Now  it  was  that  my  days  were  tranquil  and 
delightful ;  prosperity  attended  my  steps,  and 
shone  in  every  path ;  I  wanted  for  nothing  to 
make  me  joyful  and  happy  that  the  city  of  Pa- 


4f 

ris  could  afford.  At  Mr.  Hoffman's  request  I 
often  waited  on  his  lady  to  different  parts  of 
the  city,  the  country,  and  every  place  of  plea- 
sure  :  by  this  time  I  found  that  he  had  no  idea 
or  jealousy  of  our  familiarity  ;  but  this  mode 
of  proceeding  only  served  to  augment  irregu- 
lar passions,  and  create  a  natural  aversion  t® 
her  husband.  The  former  proposals  were  now- 
mentioned  again,  but  as  soon  repulsed  by  the 
objections  before  named,  and  enhanced  by  the 
consideration  of  Mr.  Hoffman's  late  kind  and 
friendly  conduct  toward  me.  I  proceeded  to 
make  additional  and  new  objections  not  before 
named,  and  enhanced  by  the  consideration  of 
Mr.  Hoffman's  late  kind  and  friendly  conduct 
toward  me.  I  proceeded  to  make  additional 
and  new  objections  not  before  named,  and  told 
her  that  I  must  consequently  be  resolved 
against  any  further  illegal  connexions:  and 
having  formed  this  resolution,  nothing  now 
remained  but  to  put  it  in  execution ;  in  order 
to  this,  *I  fixed  a  plan  to  ride  out  into  the 
country  a  few  miles  distant  from  the  city  Oif 
Paris,  and  from  thence  wrote  a  short  letter  to 
Mr.  Hoffman,  informing  him  I  was  unwell, 
but  that  doubtless  1  should  feel  myself  better 
shortly  ;  nevertheless  had  determined  to  settle 
my  business  in  Paris  immediately,  and  return 
to  my  own  native  country  ;  that  I  should  re- 
turn soon  to  Paris,  and  wished  him  to  take  an 
-account  of  our  stock  in  trade,  and  be  n.ady  to 
settle  and  adjust  all  our  accounts  when  I  should 
back.  He  received  the  letter  as  he  sat 


48 

•at  tea,  the  contents  of  which  so  agitated  and 
confused  the  kind  and  infirm  old  gentleman, 
that  the  cup  fell  from'  his  hand.  I  confess, 
that  I  was  too  sudden  in  my  plans  for  the  old 
gentleman's  interest ;  but  his  wife  was  the 
occasion  of  it.  The  letter  was  written  in  the 
German  language,  which  his  wife  could  not 
understand, and  he  did  not  let  her  know  its  con- 
tents ;  but  being  so  suddenly  affected  by  my 
sudden  resolution,  he  cast  towards  her  a  look 
unusually  singular,  as  though  he  had  said,  be 
not  too  inquisitive  :  his  wife  hereupon  thought, 
that  in  his  countenance  she  read  the  contents 
of  the  letter,  and  began  to  excuse  herself, 
saving,  it  is  none  of  my  fault,  &c.  &c.  He 
was  crafty  and  politic  enough  to  let  her  pro- 
ceed in  her  declarations  of  innocence  and 
virtue  until  she  had  exposed  the  whole  affair 
of  all  our  familiarity,  before  unknown  to  him. 
I  luv-e  many  times  thought  that  there  was 
something  very  singular  in  jealousy  ;  the  fa- 
tal effects  of  which  \ras  here  the  destruction 
or  wretchedness  beyond  description  of  us 
bo'  h  ;  for  although  ahe  was  doubtless  igno- 
rant, yet  I  too  well  knew  the  fatal  consequences. 
The  women  concluded  that  1  had  betrayed 
her  ;  and  therefore  after  a  short  conversation 
between  her  and  her  husband,  the  whole  riddle 
was  explained,  with  several  additions,  which 
she  intended  should  be  a  barrier  to  her  own 
safety.  He  immediately  issued  a  warrant 
agnlnst  me,  and  I  was  seized  by  a  band  of 
the  Parisian  soldiery,  who  by  force  conducted 


49 

i»e  to  a  loathsome  dungeon !  where  I  re- 
mained until  the  next  morning.  Let  the 
reader  imagine  what  was  my  dubious  and 
frightful  situation  !  Let  him  say  how  change- 
able is  the  state  of  man  !  And  let  it  teach 
him  the  mutability  of  all  human  things  !  So 
said  a  slave  in  the  histories  of  antiquity  ;  it  is 
related  of  a  certain  ancient  emptror  of  Egypt, 
that  had  his  charriot  drawn  by  four  kings 
whom  he  had  taken  in  battle,  and  having  ob- 
served that  one  of  them  kept  his  eyes  much  on 
one  of  the  wheels,  he  asked  him  why  he  did 
so ;  to  which  he  answered,  it  teaches  me  the 
mutability  of  ail  human  things,  for  1  observe 
that  that  part  of  the  wheel  which  is  no-  up, 
is  presently  down,  and  that  part  which  is  n  >w 
down,  is  presently  up  again:  thus  a  considera- 
tion of  the  changeable  situation  of  hunirtn  af- 
fairs consoled  my  long  and  disconsolate  hours; 
although  gloomy,  dismal  apprehensions  would 
sometimes  appear,  yet  being  naturally  of  a 
courageous  disposition,  I  thought  with  myself, 
that  although  they  will  not  tell  me  for  what 
they  confine  me  here,  yet  I  have  committed  no 
crime  worthy  of  imprisonment,  and  especially 
of  death  !  My  innocence  would  often  give  me 
courage  ;  I  had  no  idea  that  the  small  affair  had 
so  accidentiy  been  divulged;  at  other  times  I 
concluded,  that  I  had  some  powerful  and  secret 
enemy  who  might  prosecute  a  secret  plan 
against  me  that  would  cost  me  my  head,  and 
indeed  although  the  barbarities  of  the  revolu- 
tion was  chiefly  past,  yet  even  then  they  took 

£ 


50 

away  the  life  of  many  individuals  for  almost 
nothing.  1  expected  nothing  but  death,  with 
all  the  horrors  of  the  guillotine  !  Weeping 
and  fears  were  my  constant  companions  ! 

After  the  chief  part  of  the  night  had  passed 
off  I  fell  into  a  dose  and  slept ;  I  awoke,  and 
looking  around  me,  espied  a  small  chink  in 
the  wall  which  let  in  a  glimmering  of  light,  and 
soon  after  the  jailor  came  to  my  apartment, 
and  asked  me  if  1  should  like  to  take  a  little 
fresh  air,  and  invited  me  to  come  into  the 
house ;  he  gave  me  some  refreshment,  and 
liberty  to  walk  out  at  a  distance  from  the 
house,  and  said  I  am  not  afraid  of  your  going 
off,  for  you  do  not  look  like  a  man  that  is  guilty 
of  any  great  crime-,  &c:  here  I  iound  borhe 
picasing  ideas  saluting -my  contemplative  hours, 
iu  rehearsing  to  myself  the  follow  lines, 

Nature  with  all  her  charms  of  art, 

Her  blooming  blossom  blows  ; 
How  soon  her  fading  colours  die, 

Exposed  to  cruel' foes. 

But  see  on  yonder  landscape  rise, 

1  he  flow'ry  meads  in  view  ; 
They  rise  and  churm  the  lofty  skies, 

And  hail  the  spring  anew. 

Just  so  the  rough  and  boist'rous  sea, 

On  life's  tempestvu, us  waves  ; 
They  sudden  rise,  <ind  frightfully 

Prepare  their  dismal  graves. 

Amidst  the  roaring  frightful  storm, 

Whilst  all  on  bourd  opprest ; 
Tb^  winds  shall  cease,  j.ml  w^ves  be  csdflh 

To  give  the  suiTrers  rest. 


51 

Here  my  contemplations  were  interrupted  by 
thcj  call  of  a  new  set  of  officers  and  so-tikrs, 
who  conducted  me  to  thr  place  of  trial  bei<  re 
the  justice's  court;  the  first  question  win  h 
he  put  to  me  \\ras,  are  you  guilty  of  this 
charge,  viz  of  violating  the  chastity  of  the 
wife  of  John  Hoffman  ?  At  this  question  I 
was  utterly  astonished  !  to  which  1  answxn  d 
with  a  degree  of  contempt  that  I  was  i.ot  ; 
thut  having  done  nothing  to  dc  lude  or 
force  her  virtue,  I  could  answer  this  question 
in  the  negative  very  freely,  ai.d  in  good  con- 
science :  but  as  I  had  no  evidence  in  my  fa- 
ror  present,  was  obliged  to  bi  silent  on  that 
head  :  but  without  romance  or  jesting,  1  res- 
pected the  woman  too  much  to  expose  her, 
iiM'.il  1  should  receive  some  information  how 
th<  matter  came  to  be  divulged.  The  reader 
wi.i  recollect,  that  as  this  charge  was  quite  un- 
expected, I  had  not  time  ro  think  what  p<cas 
to  make,  but  stood  confounded,  amazed  and 
astonished,  to  think  how  it  con  id  be  possible 
for  a  lady  of  Airs.  Hoffman's  cast  and  honor 
to  use  me  so  deceitfully  a; id  inhumanly,  and 
withal  to  charge  me  with  the  violation  of  her 
chastity  ;  but  the  thing  that  I  had  fcartd,  now 
came  upon  me,  and  1  am  ready  to  conclude, 
that  Providence  has  more  to  do  in  the 
affairs  of  men,  than  many  are  willing  to  be- 
lieve. But  to  return  ;  I  as  here  ordered  to  a 
common  gaol  until  I  could  have  my  trial  : 
here  1  could  not  be  liberated,  lor  if  it  should 
be  proved  that  1  had  violated  her  chastity,  it 


had  been  death,  or  labour  for  several  years  iu 
the  public  service  with  criminals  ;  but  if  the 
truth  con.ci  have  been  known  arid  proved  in 
court,  the  laws  of  France  would  have  set  me 
free  :  this  was  more  wished  for  than  hoped, 
and  when  I  considered  the  sudden  transition 
from  a  state  of  wealth  and  opulence,  to  pov- 
erty and  disgrace,  from  that  of  honor  and  pre- 
ferment, to  scandal  and  dishonor,  without  a 
friend,  and  in  prison,  these  thoughts  of  my 
former  respectability  and  honor  rendered  me 
\rretched  beyond  description  : 

When  ev'ry  hand  would  grasp  the  prize, 
The  stroke  is  given  and  glory  dies. 

However,  my  situation  in  prison  was  not 
so  i intolerable  and  dishonorable  as  I  had  fear- 
ed ;  for  eight  days  only,  was  I  used  as  a  com- 
mon prisoner  ;  my  lodging  was  on  straw,  and 
bread  and  waier  my  food  ;  but  after  that,-  I 
xvas  taken  out,  and  invited  into  a  room  in  a 
better  and  more  respectable  apartment ;  and 
as  I  entered  the  room,  I  was  much  surprised 
to  find  it  neatly  furnished  :  a  good  bed,  a 
handsome  table,  and  good  victuals;  in  fact, 
there  was  every  thing  sufficient  to  accommo- 
date a  gentleman  of  character.  Here  I  con- 
tinued until  I  came  before  the  court,  and  re- 
ceived my  acquittance. 

I  shall  now  for  a  moment  return  to  the  fam- 
ily of  Mr.  Hoffman.     Stung  to  the  soui,  IW 
was  bent  on  revenge,   and   eager  to  make    a 
prize  of  my  property,  which  was  wholly  in  hb 


53 

own  hands,  he  used  all  the  means  in  his  pow- 
er to  get  me  convicted  and  executed  !  As 
for  his  wife,  when  she  came  to  find  out  that  I 
had  not  been  treacherous  and  deceitful,  she 
greatly  relieved  me  and  alleviated  my  suffer- 
ings, by  sending  me  bread,  wine,  and  other 
small  refreshments  ;  and  1  believe  that  it  was 
owing  to  her  influence  that  my  accommoda- 
tions in  prison  were  so  generously  advanced, 
She  seemed  fully  sensible  of  the  wrong  charge 
laid  at  my  door,  by  the  jealousy  of  her  ( 
heart,  and  the  guilty  fancy  which  played  in 
her  own  imagination,  whilst  she  painted  out  to 
he:  self  the  contents  of  my  short  letter.  The 
guilty  mind  is  never  free  from  fear  and  con- 
jecture, and  such  was  the  situation  of  Mrs. 
Hoffman.  Whilst  I  was  in  prison,  a  fire 
broke  out  in  Paris,  and  destroyed  upwards  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  houses.  My  property, 
and  that  of  Hoffman's  was  entirely  consumed  ; 
at  this  misfortune  I  was  heartily  glad,  as  far 
as  it  respected  Mr.  Hoffman's  property  and 
my  own  ;  for  his  expectation  of  holding  n.y 
property  was  what  made  him  so  set  .on  ray  ck  - 
struciion  !  A  man's  property  may  sofrrir-.nes 
be  the  instrument  of  his  own  wretchedness. 
After  three  months  imprisonment,  I  vviui 
brought  forth  for  trial,  and  .he  d.iy  before  ex- 
arnnvjcl  by  a  iV  p-r--oiis  in  a  neighbouring 
ofiie.M-,  The  jailor  was  uncle  "to  Mrs.  Koil- 
rr.an  ;  he,  his  wife,  and  the  state  vey 

were  ?'•!  prc?>'.T't:  it  aeerns  that  they  thought 
before  iiiv  trial,  it  would  be  best  to  exam, 
E  2 


54 

me  ;  the  latter,  perhaps  authorized  by  some  of 
my  friends,  asked  me  if  I  was  guilty  or  not ; 
to  which  I  answered  him,  not  guilty  of  the 
charge  laid  against  me,  i.  e.  by  force  violating 
her  chastity.  Mrs.  Deuboune,  the  wife 
of  Mr.  Deuboune  the  jailor,  having  call- 
versed  with  Mrs.  Hoffman  quite  often  before, 
whilst  I  was  in  the  prison,  had  doubtless 
acquired  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  the 
chief  pillars  of  this  mystery,  and  hearing 
me  declare  myself  innocent,  she  arose 
up,  and  said  she  believed  me  free  from  the 
charge  ;  she  also  begged  the  gentlemen  to  give 
me  a  discharge  as  quick  as  possible  ;  that  I 
had  suffered  long  enough,  &c.  Her  husband 
said  only  a  few  words  in. ..my  favor,  but  no- 
thing against  me  ;  for  he  seemed  willing  to  let 
her  talk  all.  Some  other  gentlemen  arose  ;  all 
spoke  in  my  favor ;  I  had  an  idea  that  this 
was  my  place  and  time  of  trial,  until  a  well 
built  and  brave  looking  gentleman  arose,  who 
before  had  been  sitting  in  perfect  silence ;  he 
spoke  to  this  purport,  that  he  could  say  noth- 
ing there,  but  that  the  next  day  he  would  do 
all  for  me  that  lay  in  his  power :  after  this,  I 
was  dismissed  and  the  jail- keeper  hailed  me 
back  again  to  prison  until  the  next  day,  when 
I  was  taken  out  and  conveyed  to  my  place  of 
trial ;  as  I  was  riding  there,  the  manner  of  my 
eonreyance  told  me,  in  awful  and  terrific  ac- 
cents, that  rny  fate  was  already  determined, 
and  I  expected  an  existence  but  a  little  time 
longer  in  this  world. 


In  Paris,  when  a  man  is  condemned  to  die, 
he  is  taken  from  prison  to  the  place  of  exe- 
cution in  a  waggon  of  large  size^  boarded  on 
all  sides  around,  and  over  the  top  ;  covered 
all  over  with  bfock  leather  on  the  outside  :  at 
the  hinder  part  is  the  door  to  enter  in,  and 
then  the  criminal  is  (when  entered)  locked 
fast,  and  shut  up  in  impenetrable  darkness  !  I 
was  led  on  and  conveyed  in*  ••>  this  great  car- 
riage, the  door  was  locked,  and  now  nothing 
appeared  before  me  but  certain  and  immediate 
death !  The  driver  drove  on  at  an  unusual 
rate,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  I  could 
keep  myself  on  the  seat  in  the*  dismal  place ; 
but  the  thoughts  of  immediate  death  kept  me 
in  a  continual  tremor  :  my  dismal  imagina- 
tion was  continually  employed  about  the  man- 
ner of  my  execution,  and  the  lamentable  cir- 
cumstances of  my  death  I  having  driven  the 
carriage  four  or  five  miles  the  door  was  open- 
ed, and  I  invited  to  come  forth.  Here  I  found 
myself  at  the  place  of  my  trial,  instead  of  my 
execution,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoffman  both 
appeared  against  me  in  court.  As  I  passed 
up  before  the  judges  appointed  for  the  trial 
of  criminal  causes,  the  chief  judge  spoke  of 
me  as  of  one  already  condemned  !  but  pass- 
ing out,  and  returning  again,  he  cast  on  me 
a  smiling  countenance,  though  he  said  noth- 
ing ;  indeed  I  needed  no  additional  fright,  I 
was  already  miserable  enough.  However,  in 
a  short  time,  the  states- attorney  (as  men  of  his 
office  are  called  in  America),  took  me  privily 


56 

into  another  apartment,  and  spake  friendly  to 
me,  and  said,  now  my  son,  tell  me  the  whole 
truth  and  nothing  bat  the  truth,  and  I  will 
befriend  y  >u  all  that  is  in  my  power ;  I  then 
rehearsed  to  him  the  substance  of  the  whole 
affair  ;  I  told  him  the  whole  truth  briefly,  and 
gave  him  as  clear  an  account  as  possible.  He 
returned,  seemingly  well  satisfied,  and  I  was 
soon  called  up.  Mrs.  Hoffman  was  asked 
the  question,  if  I  was  the  man  who  was 
accused  of  the  crime  in  question  ?  She  an- 
swered that  I  was  the  accused,  but  was  inno- 
cent. I  was  immediately  discharged  from  the 
bar  of  justice,  to  full  liberty.  1  found  myself 
once  more  at  liberty,  and  though  a  free  man, 
I  walked  the  streets  of  Paris  with  a  heavy 
heart,  and  heavy  looks,  and  a  downcast  coun- 
tenance ;  these  were  my  miserable  attendants  ; 
for  with  my  confinement  I  lost  all  my  proper- 
ty and  most  of  my  friends.  I  could  not  con- 
tent myself  in  Paris  an  hour  longer,  but  where 
to  go.  and  what  to  do,  I  did  not  know  ;  for 
my  property,  friends,  credit,  and  every  thing 
else  were  gone  and  departed  from  me.  All 
Paris  itself,  with  all  the  beauty  and  novelties 
of  the  city,  appeared  to  breathe  the  accents  of 
misery,  wretchedness,  and  wo  !  The  counte- 
nances of  my  former  acquaintance  turned  from 
me  with  disaffection  and  disgust :  this  was  the 
case  in  general,  and  my  life  was  rendered  mis- 
erable bevond  description  !  the  carnage  and 
deportment  of  my  most  affectionate  aud  dear- 


57 

est   associates   warned  me  to  flee   from  the 
streets  and  habitations  of  Paris. 

Now  I  wished  that  I  had  never  been  born  ! 
now  I  reflected  with  sorrow  that  death  had 
not  relieved  me  from  the  shackles  of  mortali- 
ty before  I  was  left  subject  to  the  alluring  en- 
chantments of  this  deluding  and  wretched 
world !  I  was  silent  as  the  house  of  death ! 
sorrowful  as  those  who  experience  the  fate  of 
shipwreck,  and  mournful  as  the  grave  !  The 
sun  shone,  the  moon  gave  her  feeble  light,  the 
planets  rolled  on  and  united  to  cast  forth  their 
flying  panicles  of  light ;  but  it  was  only  to  add 
sorrow  to  sorrow,  and  misery  to  my  wo,  to 
increase  the  terrors  of  my  distracted  mind  ! 
To  me  the  pleasant  and  exhilarating  beams  of 
life  had  withdrawn  their-  shining,  and  the 
clouds  returned  after  the  rain  f  the.  disgrace, 
wretchedness  and  misery  of  my  imprisonment, 
(although  alleviated  m  some  measure  by  the 
keeper  of  the  prison),  wore  down  my  natural 
vivacity  ;  but  still  as  long  as  there  is  life, 
there  is  hope  ;  and  determined  to  escape  in 
future  the  inexpressible  calamities  of  the  past, 
I  set  out  and  travelled  from  Paris  to  Versailles, 
a  distance  of  twelve  miles,  and  o  fit  red  myself 
as  a  journeyman  in  the  tayloring  business  : 
but  here  I  found  no  employment  ;  they  had 
heard  of  my  misfortunes  and  imprisonment 
in  Paris,  and  as  a  tale  looses  nothing  in  trav- 
elling, be  the  distance  ever  so  great,  so  this 
affair,  rendered  extremely  odious  by  exagge- 
ration, made  my  situation  helpless  and  deplo- 


58 

rable  !  I  win  not  attempt  to  justify  my  con- 
duel,  by  complaints  of  my  misfortunes  ;  no, 
rather  let  them  be  a  warning  to  all  who  look 
for  the  protection  of  that  kind  and  benignant 
providence  which  supports  all.  However, 
finding  myself  hedged  in  on  every  side,  my 
spirits  ^uuk,  and  my  courage  fled  !  that  ex- 
hilarating and  animating  disposition  of  soul  wich 
which  i  had  been  formerly  blessed,  now  fled 
as  on  the  wings  of  the  wind ;  as  my  ideas 
Cut  back  on  the  wretchedness  of  the  past,  so 
they  alternately  cast  ibrwaid  with  more  pun- 
gt  it  dread  on  the  wretchedness  of  the  future  ! 
to  f.Ki  more  miserable  than  I  was  then,  appear- 
ed impossible,  and  death,  uiUo  !  that  terror  to 
k--;^s,  and  king  of  terror  !  was  now  my 
fru/:  *d;  from  his  majestic  and  awful  counte- 
nance it  was  that  I  b'eathed  the  vital  air  of 
hope  ;  it  was  ihen  I  concluded,  th.u  better 
are  r.he  de<«d  who  are  already  cl  r.d,  than  'he 
living  who  .ire  yet  alive,  especially  in  my  sit- 
u u  -on  ;  and  now,  disarmed  of  all  his  terrific 
appearance,  I  embraced  him  as  my  best  friend; 
and  having  collected  a  confident  expectation 
ot  being  better  and  less  miserable  in  a  future 
stare  than  in  this,  1  prepared  myself  for  the 
awful  event !  and  when  I  had  fully  consulted 
the  propriety  of  suicide,  on  which  I  had  now 
determined  more  fully,  I  soon  put  in  order 
my  small  preparations,  and  walked  to  the  sub- 
urbs of  the  city. 

As  I  travelled  along,   with  my   pistol  and 
ammunition,  I  often  looked  at  that  bright  lu- 


minary  the  sun,  and  it-  genial  influence  on  the 
pleasant  grove,  b  and  spires  cf  the  temples ;  but 
although  brilliant  and  animating  to  the  man  of 
pleasure,  they  were  all  to  me  as  melancholiy  as 
the  hearse  that  contains  the  sable  bier !  to  me, 
time  was  no  more  !  the  angel  spoken  of  in  the 
apocalypse,  had  cried  to  my  imagination,  yea, 
to  my  very  soul !  that  time  shall  be  no  longer! 
a»  d  the  end  of  all  things  was  now  at  hand ! 
QT  d  as  I  travelled  on,  death  seemed  to  con- 
verse with  me  as  complaisant  as  a  friend  ;  he 
told  me,  that  he  was  the  end  of  all  my  sor- 
rows ;  where  the  wicked  ceased  from  troub- 
ling", and  the  weary  were  at  rest :  that  this  life 
was  but  the  first  short  stage  in  the  existence 
of  man  ;  and  that,  if  I  did  not  like  the  unfor- 
tunate scenes  and  stages  of  the  first,  I  had  an 
undoubted  right,  to  move  my  station  onward, 
and  take  my  lot  in  the  yet  undiscoved  employ- 
ments of  that  better  and  le^s  fluctuating  stage 
of  existence !  1  concluded  that  by  my  afflic- 
tions, I  had  been  brought  down  to  a  state  of 
pennitential  sorrow  and  repentance,  suiting 
well  enough  the  character  of  all  such  as  were 
ready  and  fitted  to  leave  this  afflicted  and  wick- 
ed tabernacle  in  the  earth.  Thus  being  no 
better  mistrusted,  I  b  lieved  that  if  any  per- 
sons felt  themselves  prepared,  their  sins  for- 
given and  they  at  peace  with  heaven,  as  I  be- 
1m  d  that  1  then  was,  they  could  conscien- 
tiously put  an  end  to  their  own  existence  here, 
and  be  happy  hereafter !  that  if  they  believed 
that  they  should  be  happy,  they  would  be  so ; 


68 

and  that  these  things  would  be  according  i& 
their  faith.  Having  well  prepared  my  sell  to 
meet  the  fatal  blow,  I  mended  my  pace  :  but 
unwilling  to  leave  the  world  without  giving  my 
friends  in  Franckfort  some  account  of  the  rea- 
sons of  my  untimely  exit,  I  thought  of  writ- 
ing a  short  history  of  my  misfortunes,  direct- 
ed to  them,  which  the  public  might  find  after 
my  death.  The  substance  of  what  I  then 
wrote  was  as  follows  : 

Dear  Brother, 

Since  I  left  Franckfort  I  have  passed 
through  various  scenes,  both  prosperous  and 
adverse.  I  was  eventually  established  in  good 
business  in  the  city  of  Paris,  with  about  twenty 
five  hundred  dollars  capital ;  but  being  un- 
fortunately and  unjustly  imprisoned,  the  fire 
consumed  my  property,  my  friends  are  vanish- 
ed and  my  reputation  is  lost ;  in  consequence 
of  which  I  have  but  a  few  minutes  longer  to 
call  myself  an  inhabitant  of  this  world.  Hav- 
ing no  ink  by  me  1  draw  these  lines  with  my 
own  blood,  which  you  will  keep  in  remem- 
brance of  him  whose  fate  will  prevent  him  from 
seeing  the  face  of  his  friends  until  he  meets 
them  in  a  future  and  unknown  world,  where  he 
expects  shortly  to  be. 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

ANDREW  OEHLER. 

Just  then  a  poor  old  man,  whose  tattered 
•garments  spoke  his  misery  and  distress,  pas-. 
cd  by  me,  and  as  he  passed,  he  humbly  asked 


61 

me  for,  a  little  money:  thousands  in  France 
were  reduced  to  his  wretched  situation,  by 
the  unpralleled  situations  of  the  revolution ; 
he  found  me  pennyless  ;  but  unwilling  to  pass 
bv  his  humble  request,  and  viewing  myself 
at  the  end  of  the  race,  I  took  the  gold  ring 
from  off  my  finger,  and  gave  it  to  him  very 
freely  :  this  ring  was  given  me  in  Strasburg 
by  my  sister,  when  I  left  her  house,  that  I 
should  keep  it  in  remembrance  of  her  kindness 
and  affection  for  me.  As  I  passed  on  in  search 
of  a  place  convenient  to  accomplish  this  im- 
portant business,  1  espied  an  entrance  opened 
just  by  me,  which  ltd  into  a  common,  around 
a  garden  fence,  where  1  might  be  secreted  ; 
having  entered,  and  arrived  at  the  long  wished 
for  spot,  I  kneeled  down  and  prayed  ;  think- 
ing myself  better  prepared,  I  presented  the 
pistol  to  rny  breast!  just  before  I  attempted 
to  draw  the  trigger,  1  thought  best  to  kneel 
d  vn  and  pray  away  a  remaining  doubt  ;  I 
thought,  that  I  felt  now  entirely  ready  ;  expect- 
ing that  the  merciful  and  all  wise  Creator  would 
pardon  my  sin  in  this  thing  if  there  was  any, 
and  convey  me  into  the  land  of  peace  ;  but 
wishing  to  beg  of  him  all  the  favor  possible, 
sh<>uld  there  be  any  iniquity  in  the  action,  I 
kneeled  down  the  third  time,  and  prated  ear- 
nestly ;  and  thought  that  I  felt  now  the  true 
love  of  God  and  my  neighbor  influencing  my 
whole  soul  !  I  also  cona  ived  that  I  was  at 
peace  with  God,  and  fully  willing-  to  die  :  I 
arose,  and  presented  the  pistol  a  third  time  at. 
F 


62 

my  breast  ;  and  now,  one  moment  would  have 
determined  and  closed  the  scene  !  but  just  by 
the  enclosure  which  covered  me  from  the 
streets  opened  a  garden  gate,  and  an  old  lady 
presented  herself  immediately  before  me  ;  and 
seeing  me  in  the  alarming  situation  which  ex- 
hibited itself  to  her  view,  she  cried  out,  and 
with  a  lamentable  and  an  alarming  voice  said, 
for  God's  sake  !  young  man,  what  is  the  mat- 
ter  ?  what  are  you  about  ?  At  this  instant  the 
pistol  fell  out  of  my  hand,  and  the  temptation 
vanished  from  me  :  having  come  to  my  senses 
a  little,  I  stood  still  for  some  time,  with  amaze- 
ment and  surprise  at  what  I  had  been  about ! 
the  goodness  and  mercy  of  the  Supreme  Being, 
at  once,  so  poured  in  upon  me  to  that  degree, 
that  it  overpowered  me  as  much  with  grati- 
tude and  thanksgiving  for  my  deliverance,  as 
the  temptation  had  done  before,  when  I  viewed 
mvstlf  on  the  borders  of  the  eternal  world  ;  in 
a  flood  of  tears,  I  immediately  fell  on  my 
knees,  10  return  my  thanks  to  the  God  of 
heaven  for  my  deliverance  ;  and  more  than  all, 
that  I  should  be  so  near  to  striking  the  fatal 
blow  !  and  be  prevented  in  such  an  unex- 
pected and  wonderful  manner.  Surely,  the 
Supreme  Author  of  nature  could  not  have  had 
in  view  my  worthiness  or  merits,  but  must 
have  calculated  on  the  scale  of  his  own  great 
goodness  and  grace,  by  which  he  upholds  the 
world.  The  good  old  gentlewoman  seemed 
wonderfully  animated  at  having  been  the  in- 
strument of  rnv  deliverance,  and  advib.ec  m? 


to  take  courage  again ;  that  fortune  might  yet 
favor  me,  as  it  had  thousands  before  who  had 
been  in  a  worse  situation  than  myself;  she  in^ 
vited  me  into  her  house,  and  entertained  me 
two  or  three  days  :  I  told  her  my  misfortune, 
and  she  made  use  of  all  the  arguments  in  her 
power  to  encourage  me  and  keep  up  my 
spirits. 

I  had  full  reason  to  take  courage  now,  and 
once  more  step  forward  ;  for  the  consideration 
of  the  mercy  of  God  in  my  late  deliverance, 
gave  me  good  reason  to  believe  that  he  \vi;s 
on  my  side  ;  and  I  then  concluded,  that  if 
God  himself  was  for  me,  all  that  should  mili- 
tate against  me  could  not  prevail  ;  this  thought 
alone  was  enough  to  set  me  on  my  feet  CMCC 
more,  and  being  now  more  Confident  than 
ever  uf  his  protection,  it  was  no  mailer  where 
I  was,  what  business  I  was  in,  provided  it.  be 
lawful ;  whilst  my  protection  seemed  secure, 
and  being  cut  off  from  employment  in  my 
occupation,  I  must  look  out  for  some  other 
business,  which  soon  presented  itself,  viz. 
to  list  myself  in  the  war,  then  carrying  on 
against  the  Austrians.  Accordingly,  1  enlist- 
ed myself  a  hussar.  I  was  then  under  military 
subordination,  and  good  order  was  generally 
kept  in  the  army. 

Being  once  more  in  some  employment,  I 
had  lime  to  reflect  on  what  had  passed  before  ; 
and  here  I  cannot  but  remark,  that  whilst  I 
was  imploring  the  aid  of  the  Supreme  Being, 
the  interposition  of  his  providence  prevented 


64 

my  fill  !  This  may  seem  trifling  to  those  wht* 
havv  nruher  iroubii'  nor  .vjp'ow  ;  bur  to  myself 
it  appears  like  a  special  reality  ;  and  those  scrip- 
tures which  formerly  1  h<.mi  with,  indifference, 
are  now  remembered  \viih  reverence  and  expe- 
rience :  we  read  somewhere  in  the  language  of 
tlu  prophets,  "  Call  on  me  in  the  day  of  thy 
trouble,  and  I  will  hear  thee,  and  thou  shxlt 
giorif}  me;"  and  again,  u  When  the  poor  and 
needy  seek  water,  and  there  is  none,  I  the 
Lord  will  hear  them,  I  the  God  of  Israel  will 
nut  forsake  them,"  i  e  when  a  person  is  in 
extreme  want,  and  perishing  in  distress,  they 
:>re  invited  to  call  on  God  in  prayer,  let  their 
s^ase  and  circumstances  be  what  it  may,  viz. 
fernptations  of  any  kind  that  bring  Trouble  and 
distress  ;  and  perhaps  the  manner  ac  sea  in  a 
violent  storm  has  ofcen  experienced  deliver- 
ance in  this  way  from  the  hands  of  a  benign 
providence  ;  when  he  may  not  have  (as  yet) 
revived  grace  sufficient  to  give  him  a  title  to 
.heaven  ;  and  I  believe  that  God  the  Father 
will  hear  all  that  sincerely  pray,  according  to 
>»is  will,  in  the  name  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ ; 
I  e.  pray  for  such  things  as  are  agreeable  to 
his  own  honor  and  glory  ;  and  thai  answering 
of  the  prayers  of  the  needy  and  afflicted  is  not 
the  privilege  of  the  Christian  only,  but  of  all 
such  as  have  ndt  yet  sinned  away  their  day  of 
grace  ;  they  having  still,  through  the  merits  of 
the  great  advocate,  an  undoubted  liberty  to 
apply  for  assistance  ;  for,  as  said  an  ancient 
apostle,  "He  is  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of 


G5 

the  whole  world  ;"  and  again,  it  is  wnucn  ir, 
the  book  of  Isaiah  the  prophet,  by  inspiration, 
"  Look  unto  me  all  the  ends  of  the  earth,  ami 
be  ye  saved  :"  and  many  other  such  scriptures, 
which  plainly  declare,  that  all  mankind  are  on 
level  ground  with  respect  to  their  part  or  priv- 
ilege in  these  things  ;  and  if  so,  the  Son  of 
God  now  intercedes  for  all,  and  accordingly 
every  man  may  safely  be  advised  to  esteem, 
himself  possessing  these  privileges  ;  not  that  I 
would  advise  him  to  consider  himself  con- 
demned, by  an  irrevocable  decree  of  the  Al- 
mighty before  he  was  born,  for  if  he  will  con- 
sider the  scriptures  rightly,  he  will  be  obliged 
to  believe  that  he  is  a  probationary  creature, 
and  in  a  probationary  state ;  and  my  opinion 
is,  that  mankind  will  never  find  reason  to  com- 
plain of  any  partiality  in  the  Deity  in  the  great 
day  of  judgment,  when  all  things  must  be 
placed  in  a  true  and  clear  light ;  every  mouth 
will  be  stopped,  and  the  guilty  confess  them  - 
selves  justly  condemned;  that  the  foreknow- 
ledge of  God,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  divine! 
prescience  governing  all  things,  makes  no  dif- 
ference with  the  human  family  ;  and  the  most 
^orthodox  presbyterians,  in  the  state  of  New- 
York  have,  not  many  years  since,  republished 
Dickenson's  "  Five  Points,"  wherein  it  is  ac- 
knowledged, that  the  Deity  predetermined 
that  his  foreknowledge  should  never  militate 
against  the  happiness  of  any  of  his  creatures  ; 
and  that  he  predetermined  to  give  more  grace, 
even  to  the  reprobate,  than  ever  they  would 
F  2 


66 

make  use  of.  Thus  the  presbyterians,  when 
objections  made  against  the  doctrines  publish- 
ed on  the  decree  of  election  were  answered, 
fdl  directly  into  the  sentiments  of  the  church 
of  England,  the  methodist,  free-will  baptist, 
new-lights  and  quakers;  so  that,  when  brought 
to  the  test  of  critical  examination,  we  may 
observe  the  chief  difference  between  the  lead- 
ers of  all  these  denominations  consists  in  forms, 
manner,  and  an  ungrounded  prejudice,  and 
often  an  unjustifiable  attachment  to  tradition, 
or  sensual  and  worldly  motives  ;  and  I  have 
generally  observed,  that  the  more  tenacious 
any  denomination  or  particular  sect  are  of 
their  manner  and  form  of  worship,  the  less  I 
have  generally  found  of  that  sum  of  all  true 
religion,  the  love  of  God  and  their  neighbor, 
without  which  all  other  professions  and  abili- 
ties shall  profit  us  nothing.  And  here  let  my 
readers  be  candid  and  charitable  enough  to 
believe,  that  I  do  not  undertake  to  give  them 
that  advice,  which  I  myself  am  not  willing  to 
follow  ;  for  the  consideration  of  the  great  favor 
shewed  to  me  in  this  remarkable  deliverance, 
had  a  very  powerful  and  lasting  effect  on  my 
mind ;  I  believed  that  my  petition  was  so 
immediately  answered,  that  I  ever  afterwards 
considered  it  an  invaluable  privilege  to  have  a 
God  of  power  and  grace  t;o  apply  to  in  the 
lime,  of  danger  I  and  in  nothing  of  great  im- 
portance (since  that  time)  have  I  been  willing 
to  proceed,  without  desiring  the  approbation 
and  blessing  of  that  same  benign  and  gracious 


preserver  of  men  to  attend  it,  desiring  above 
all  things  to  be  guided  by  his  protection  :  and 
my  candid  and  solemn  advice  to  all  men  now 
dwelling  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth  is,  that 
they  by  no  means  ever  proceed  on  any  thing 
very  important,  and  especially  in  affairs  of 
eternal  consequence,  without  applying  to  this 
great  fountain  of  light  and  grace,  for  direction 
and  assistance  ;  and  if  I  should  at  any  time  in 
my  life  hereafter,  err  from  this  general  rule  in 
my  former  life,  and  appear  dilatory  in  the  per- 
formance  of  this  duty,  let  my  reader  remember, 
that  I  shall  by  no  means  justify  my  own  con- 
duct, although  I  hope  that  I  shall  never  be 
left  so  devoid  of  gratitude  as  not  to  improve 
such  an  unparalleled  and  inexpressible  privi- 
lege ;  for  surely  the  life  and  eternal  salvation  of 
the  sou)  are  things  not  to  be  trifled  with  ;  and 
I  have  no  reason  to  doubt,  but  that  if  I  had 
then  put  an  end  to  iny  own  existence,  I  should 
have  been  miserable  forever. 

But  to  return  to  my  enlistment.  In  about 
one  week  after  I  joined  the  army,  we  re- 
ceived orders  to  march  against  the  enemy 
in  battle  ;  but  although  I  regretted  that  I  must 
fight  against  my  own  countrymen,  yet  it  was 
not.  in  my  power  to  prevent  it ;  we  marched 
accordingly ;  and  the  French  being  courage- 
ous in  fighting  for  their  expected  liberty, 
(unhappy  men),  rushed  forward  with  great 
priije  arid  -Ambition  ;  the  contest  was  hot  and 
ob  bicUc  o-.  both  sides  ;  and  the  French  had 
the  good  fortune  to  gain  a  complete  victory  ; 


68 

and  it  was  computed  that  both  armies  left  fifty 
thousand  dead  on  the  field  of  battle  !  Some  of 
my  young  readers  may  be  entertained  with  a 
brief  account  of  this  awful  work  !  indeed  it  is 
a  business  which  cannot  be  performed  with 
indifference.  As  I  was  one  of  the  dragoons, 
I  was,  with  my  fellows,  placed  on  an  eminence 
a  little  space  back  of  the  army,  and  we  all  had 
a  clear  view  of  the  Austrians,  moving  towards 
us  on  quick  march  ;  they,  at  first  appearance, 
were  three  or  four  miles  distant ;  this  was  in 
a  level  country  in  Alsace  in  France,  a  few 
miles  from  Strasburg.  When  I  first  saw  the 
numerous  regiments  of  the  enemy,  filling  the 
whole  country  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the 
left,  and  pressing  forward  to  destroy  us,  and 
knowing  them  to  be  strong  and  valiant  in 
battle,  my  heart  began  to  beat  with  fear  and 
dread  !  but  a  competent  portion  of  animating 
spirits  were  given  to  every  one  of  us ;  and 
the  music  commenced  playing  the  most  cheer- 
ful and  animating  tunes  ;  this  answered  well 
the  purpose  intended  ;  viz.  to  raise  the  courage 
of  the  soldiers.  As  the  enemy  drew  near, 
within  about  one  hundred  rods  of  our  army, 
they  had  gotten  engaged  in  good  earnest ;  our 
cavalry,  in  some  parts,  were  commanded  out ; 
especially  on  the  right  wing,  which  was  first 
engaged  :  at  length  it  came  warm  on  the  left 
wing  where  I  was  stationed  ;  our  regiment, 
had  got  within  about  sixty  yards  of  that  of  the 
enemy  ;  fury,  death  and  destruction  was  in- 
creasing through  the  ranks!  the  cannon  roaring! 


69 

the  mighty  falling  !  the  blood  running  in 
brooks  !  and  the  gioans  of  dyii'g  men  \vere 
dartingvthe  melancholy  sound  through  the  air  ! 
Ju^t  now  it  was  that  our  A  giment  of  horse 
received  the  brave  command  ;  they  were 
fighting  for  liberty,  and  tuii  of  revenge  :  there- 
fore pressed  forward  in  the  highest  ambition, 
and  eng iged  the  German  horse  ,  we  soon  cut 
them  up,  and  dispersed  them,  and  (ell  imme- 
diately upon  the  infantry  :  the  work  was  terri- 
ble here  !  as  we  had  the  advantage  ;  many 
lav  dving  and  cursing  the  day  that  they  were 
born  !  one  half  of  our  regiment  of  horse  were 
cut  up  and  destroyed  !  but  we  had  recniits 
from  other  regiments ;  and  in  the  whole,  I 
was  four  or  five  hours  engaged  in  this  manner, 
excepting  a  few  short  retreats  ordered,  in  or- 
der to  gain  recruits  ;  the  whole  army  was  en- 
gaged seven  hours  ;  and  at  last,  took  several 
prisoners  both  of  the  horse  and  of  the  infantry. 

We  remained  at  Alsace,  the  place  of  victo- 
ry, for  near  three  weeks,  during  which  time 
we  had  several  skirmishes  with  the  enemy, 
in  one  of  which  we  took  several  of  my  former 
friends  and  acquaintance.  From  Alsace  we 
marched  about  fifty  leagues  up  into  the  coun- 
try toward  Switzerland,  where  we  encamped. 

I  was  now  resolved  to  fight  no  more  against 
my  own  countrymen,  and  determined  to  de- 
sert the  French  service  as  quick  as  possible  : 
there  was  also  official  accounts  that  the  Rus- 
shins  were  coming  on  us  with  rapid  marches  ! 
this  helped  forward  my  former  resolutions,  and 


70 

having  engaged  two  more  of  my  companions 
in  arms,  on  the  '25th  of  Sept.  1798,  we  set 
off  in  the  night,  and  had  the  good  fortune  to 
pass  all  the  centinels.  When  at  first,  I  propo- 
sed this  hazardous  expedition  to  my  two  com- 
panions, they  startled  at  the  thought ;  and 
asked  me,  if  I  did  not  remember  the  reading 
of  the  warning  and  admonitions  about  an  hour 
past,  given  to  all  who  should  be  under  a  temp- 
tauon  to  desert  the  arrm-  ?  viz.  all  who  should 
desert  with  a  horse  and  armory  were  imme- 
diately to  be  shot !  all  who  deserted  without  a 
horse,  under  arms,  were  to  be  enslaved  during 
liu  ;  ail  who  deserted  m  their  regimentals, 
without  horse  and  .rms,  were,  if  taken,  to  be 
condemned  to  be  soid  as  slaves  for  a  certain 
muuber  of  years,  to  the  benefit  of  the  govern- 
ment. To  this  I  answered,  that  I  perfectly 
recollected  every  feature  of  their  threats  ;  but 
it  had  little  effect  on  me,  for  the  probability 
was  that  to  tarry  in  the  army  would  be  death  ! 
and  nothing  worse  was  threatened  if  we  should 
be  taken  by  the  centinels  ;  besides  if  we  left 
our  horses  and  arms,  there  was  less  to  be 
feared  still  ;  but  notwithstanding  that,  I  was 
determined  to  go  with  my  regimentals  and 
sword  ;  and  as  has  been  related,  we  all  agreed ; 
night  fast  approaching,  we  summoned  up 
all  the  resolution  possible;  and  promising, 
under  the  strongest  obligations,  to  stand  by 
each  other  in  every  danger  presenting  itself 
through  the  flight,  until  our  escape  should 
be  fully  effected,  we  set  out. 


The  centinels  were  placed  round  the  en- 
campment, within  one  hundred  yards  of  each 
other ;  and   two   of  them   being  placed  each 
side  a  piece  of  wood,  vve  thought  it  most  pru- . 
dent  to  pass  through  these  woods.     Night  be- 
ing come,    and  a   general    silence    observed 
through  the  camp,  \ve  proceeded  to  the  peri- 
lous business  ;  and  in  order   to  make  as  little 
noise  as  possible,    and  ensure  the  pass,  we 
crept  along  on  our  hands  and  knees  until  we 
were  in  the  middle;  about  this  time  we  made 
a  *mall  rustling  amongst  the  leaves  ;  the  cen- 
tinels  hearing  the  noise,    fired,  and  discharg- 
ed a  few  shot  at  us ;  it  was  no  time  now  to  be 
idle,    and   we    were  obliged  to   make  quick 
steps  ;  vve  then  sprung  up,  and  fled   with  all 
haste ;  we  had  one  fence  to  surmount,  and 
the  balls  flying  merrily  round  vis;  we  felt  our- 
selves  pretty   light,  and   were  obliged  to  fly 
wherever  we  could ;  there   was  no  chusiug 
which  way  to  run,  and  coming  athwart  a  small 
river,  we  dashed  ourselves  in,  and  swam  across 
as  quick  as  possible  ;  and  on  the  other  side 
finding  some  of  the  soldiers  out  on  the  scout, 
I  supposed  after  fruit,   I   was  aware   that  I 
might  be  taken  up  under  suspicion.     To  pre- 
vent this  misfo;tii;-e,  I  run  my  sword  i;itothe 
ground,  and  complained  and  murmured  at  not 
finding  some  potatoes,  which  it  was  said  were 
buried  there ;   this  drew  suspicion  from  me  ; 
by  this  policy  I  had  almost  lost  my  two  com- 
panions, who  took  me  for  one  of  the  soldiers 
out  on  patrole,  but  seing  them  stand  at  a  dis- 


72 

tancc  from  me,  I  gave  them  the  countersign 
and  regained  their  confidence.  We  then  pro- 
ceeded forward  for  Switzerland  :  the  night 
being  very  cold,  we  suffered  much,  for  we 
were  obliged  to  ford  several  rivers  and  small 
streams  of  water ;  indeed  the  rivers  were  so 
deep  that  we  were  obliged  to  swim  several  of 
them.  We  travelled  all  night,  as  we  expect- 
ed tovyard  Switzerland ;  but  to  our  surprise 
and  amazement  found  ourselves,  in  the  morn- 
ing, within  cannon-shot  of  the  French  camp. 
Cold,  hungry,  and  worn  down  with  fatigue, 
my  two  frier  ds  pic  posed  going  into  the 
camp  and  giving  ourselves  up  ;  but  I  again 
encouraged  them  to  look  forward  and  travel, 
hoping  for  the  best.  Accordingly  we  set  off 
again,  without  food  orx  any  kind  of  refresh- 
ment :  they  at  one  time  began  to  despair,  but 
I  said  every  thing  in  my  power  to  keep  up 
their  courage,  and  they  eventually  followed 
me  over  mountains  and  rivers,  not  venturing  to 
travel  the  road,  through  fear  of  being  taken  up. 
At  night  we  loged  in  an  old  barn,  in  the  morn- 
ing we  pursued  our  journey,  and  by  twelve 
o'clock  we  reached  the  stream  that  divides 
France  from  Switzerland ;  this  river  we  swam 
across.  Being  now  out  of  danger,  we  began 
to  think  of  refreshing  ourselves ;  but  neither 
of  us  had  any  money,  and  we  were  obliged  to 
cast  lots,  to  determine  which  of  us  should  part 
with  some  of  our  clothing  ;  the  lot  fell  on  my- 
self, and  I  was  obliged  to  part  with  my  coat  : 
the  day  following,  one  of  my  comrades  was 


n 

obliged  to  do  the  same .  On  this  day,  the  28th 
of  Sept.  we  arrivtd  at  N<  ufchaitei,  in  the  same 
miserable  and  wretched  situation  that  1  was  in 
when  there  once  before.  I  was  generally 
known  here,  having  entered  the  town  pretty 
much  in  the  same  plight.  We  begun  to  ask 
for  business  amongst  the  taylors,  but  for  some 
time  to  little  purpose  ;  the  people  now  drclar- 
ed,  that  I  must  be  some  abandoned  vagabond, 
and  not  worthy  of  being  employed,  or  I 
should  not  have  appeared  amongst  them  twice 
in  the  same  despic^b  e  situation  :  houbeit,  one 
of  them  more  humane  than  the  rest,  treated 
my  misfortunes  with  more  respect  and  becom- 
ing decency,  and  offered  me  his  assistance. 
In  his  employ  I  soon  gained  the  character  of 
a  good  workman :  here  I  had  some  thoughts 
of  setting  up  for  myself,  but  having  as  ye  t  earn- 
ed only  a  small  sum  of  money,  I  wrote  to  rny 
relations  for  assistance  :  they  soon  sent  nit  an 
insolent  letter,  but  no  money,  except  what  my 
youngest  sister  of  her  free  bounty  was  pleased 
to  send  nie.  With  indignation  I  read  the 
letter,  and  from  that  moment  1  determiiied 
never  to  behold  the  face  of  any  of  my  father's 
family  again  ;  my  sister  excepted,  who  had 
taken  notice  of  me  in  the  time  of  need.  I  now 
drew  up  a  firm  resolution  to  depart  for  Amer- 
ica, as  soon  as  my  business  would  admit  of  it. 
On  the  25th  day  of  May,  1790,  I  left  Ncuf- 
chattel,  and  on  the  Qd  day  ol  June  following 
arrived  at  Stra.iburg,  the  same  city  which  I 
lett  when  1  first  set  out  for  travelling  ;  but 
« 


\vliat  sorrow  and  reflection  seized  my  breast, 
when  my  ears  were  saluted  with  the  death  <.i  iv  y 
friendly  and  affectionate  brother- in -law  !  Fie 
was  no  more  seen  to  tread  the  delightful  vu;k, 
to  sit  beneath  the  pleasant  and  shady  bower, 
or  brighten  the  joy  and  magnificence  of  his 
duelling  !  Sorrow  now  pervades  the  apart- 
ments oi  his  house  !  the  consolation  and  joy 
of  his  friends  are  turned  into  mourning- !  cks- 
pair  is  on  every  countenance,  and  sack- cloth 
covers  his  pleasant  paths  !  He  fought  braved  1 
lie  fell  in  the  cause  of  his  injured  country  ! 
My  sister  was  now  gone,  I  knew  not  where, 
and  no  one  could  tell  me  ;  her  joyful  days  had 
vanished  as  a  -dream,  and  as  a  cloud  that  cov- 
ers the  sun  when  thunders  and  tempest  rise  ! 
as  the  sudden  destruction  of  a  fair  city  !  and 
as  the  flower  falieth  in  the  field  !  so  her  glory 
hod  vanished  !  Thus  all  that  was  near  and 
d<  <>r  to  me  in  Sirasburg  had  passed  away,  and 
the  glory  of  my  best  and  ablest  friend  was 
ihH'gled  with  the  dust. 

I  .immediately  left  this  city,  and  took  my 
departure  for  Franckfort.  In  walking  the 
.Streets  here  I  met  my  brother  George,  but 
did  not  speak  to  him.  1  proceeded  to  make 
enquiry  for  my  youngest  sister,  who  1  found 
in  a  very  low  state  of  health  ;  to  her  1  made 
known  my  intentions  of  going  to  North  Ann  r- 
ic;:  :  she  was  much  surprised,  and  used  every 
a  Lrum<  nt  in  her  power  to  dissuade  and  jm  vt  nt 
ri;  .  accomplishing  rm  j;inp(  .-:-«•  ,  *l-e  hud 
regard  for  me,  and  entreated  me  • 


75 

but  her  entreaties  were  in  vain  ;  she  then  cast 
herself  on  her  knees  and  plead  in  tears.  I 
was  fully  bent  on  the  voyage,  and  told  her  that 
it  -VMS  our  of  her  power  to  prevent  or  alter  my 
mind  She  then  gave  me  what  money  she 
had,  and  the  next  day  being  the  18th  day  of 
June,  1  took  a  solemn  and  affectionate  leave, 
and  departed  for  Friesburg  ;  which,  passing 
through,  I  proceeded  on  my  journey,  and 
arrived  at  H  mover  on  the  fourth  day  of  July. 
H  re  an  acr.ident  happened  which  is  very  sin- 
gular.. O.i  a  certain  night,  in  the  inn  in  which 
1  lodged,  I  was  taken  very  ill,  and  got  up  out 
of  my  bed  and  went  out :  returning  to  my 
b  d,  I  missed  my  way;  there  were  serial 
doors  in  this  hall  that  opened  i«*to  different 
rooms,  and  passing  into  a  room  adjoining 
mine,  I  struck  my  feet  against  the  body  of  a 
d<  id  man  which  lay  on  the  floor  !  It  threw  me 
down  across  the  bodu  and  feeling  around  me, 
I  lound  b'iood  on  (he  floor  and  on  his  cloth*  ^  ; 
and  having  an  idea  that  he  was  murdered  I 
feh  over  his  head  and  neck,  and  found  that  his 
throat  was  cut  from  ear  to  ear  !  This  was 
about  2  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  all  in 
the  house  in  bed.  I  immediately  called  out 
for  assistance  ;  the  host  arose  and  came  in  with 
a  light;  he  saw  me  covered  with  the  blood 
occasioned  by  falling  over  the  dead  body,  and 
instantly  concluded  that  I  was  the  mu  'der-  r, 
and  that  the  cry  proceeded  from  the  expiring 
man,  who  lay  on  the  floor,  instead  of  iro.Ti 
myself  ;  I  was  seised,  put  in  irons,  and  con- 


p 


veyed  to  prison.  This  was  the  second  time 
that  I  was  imprisoned  in  the  course  of  my 
travels,  and  both  times  unjustly,  and  eventu- 
al!}' declared  innocent.  In  this  prison  I  wait- 
ed several  weeks,  or  near  two  months,  for  my 
trial  ;  the  trial  came,  and  all  the  evidence  this 
brave  court  could  find  against  me  was  a  bare 
and  naked  supposition,  without  any  corrobo- 
rating circumstances  whatever  attending,  or 
agreeing  with  the  supposition  ;  the  very  com- 
mon thing  called  suicide,  was  not  allowed  to 
make  any  part  of  the  plea  in  favor  of  my 
own  life,  although  I  declared  the  whole  cir- 
cumstance of  finding  the  man  in  his  awful 
situation  with  surprize  and  amazement !  My 
countenance  and  my  language  declared  my 
innocence  ;  yet  they  accounted  me  only  daring, 
and  grov/n  bold  in  infidelity  ;  and  accordingly 
they  consigned  me  to  that  punishment  which 
the  wilful  and  unprovoked  murder  of  my 
fellow  countryman  deserved  ;  .  and  I  was 
":^ed  to  hear  the  terrible  and  awful  sentence 
leath  !  read  off  to  me  in  the  court.  Know- 
ing that  I  was  innocent  of  his  blood,  I  bore  it 
with  a  greater  composure  than  people  generally 
do,  who  are  condemned  justly,  and  where 
they  have  been  guilty  ;  but  a  few  days  before 
I  was  to  be  executed,  i.  e.  to  be  beheaded, 
for  that  was  to  be  the  manner  of  my  death, 
it  came  to  pass,  as  if  heaven  designed  to 
clear  the  innocent,  that  on  examining  his  pa- 
pers, they  found  a  letter  amongst  them,  left 


behind  him  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  puL 
which  was  to  this  purport  : 

"  Being1  deprived  of  my  parents,  the  only 
object  oif  my  heart,  which  renders  life  a;i 
insupportable  burden  to  me,— I  am  dctermin- 
.ed  to  put  an  end  to  a  miserable  existence, 
by  cutting  my  own  throat  !  Therefore,  accuse 
no  man  of  my  death,  should  1  be  found  in 
this  situation," 

The  acquisition  of  this  writing-  was  of 
infinite  importance  to  me  ;  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  kind  inhabitants  of  Hanover  inform- 
ed me  of  it,  was  most  pleasing,  elevating  and 
satisfactory,  especially  at  a  time  when  death 
apparently  drew  so  nigh,  as  within  three  or 
four  days  !  The  jailer  and  the  inn- holder 
where  the  suicide  or  supposed  murder  was 
committed,  with  several  of  the  imst  respected- 
in  the  city  of  Hanover,  came  joyfully  into  the 
prison,  and  informed  me  of  the  writing-  which 
they  had  found;  with  a  pleasing  and  joyful 
countenance,  they  took  off  my  chains,  and 
declared  to  me  my  innocence  ;  they  left  open 
'the  prison  doors  and  went  out,  telling  me, 
I  might  take  my  pleasune  in  walking  tlirough 
the  house  wherever  I  pleased  ;  hut  that  it 
would  be  best  that  I  should  tarry  in  the  house 
until  they  had  procured  my  discharge  from 
the  judge  of  the  court;  that  the  messenger 
was  already  gone,  and  would  shortly  return 
with  it ;  he  accordingly  soon  returned,  and 
they  delivered  to  me  my  final  acquittance  and 
Jorn  ;  this  was  to  them  a  day  of  joy  aiul 
<;  2 


dadncss  ;  and  probably  they  had  an  idea  that 
I  ought  to  feel  myself  more  elated  than  them- 
selves ;  but  I,  having  calculated  on  soon  leav- 
ing this  miserable  and  wretched  world,  for  a 
better  habitation  beyond  the  skies,  had  my 
mind  at  that  time  so  far  reconciled  to  my  sit- 
uation, that  I  seamed  to  desire  life,  only  as  a 
mean  of  doing  good  on  the  earth ;  I  thought 
that  my  peace  was  made  with  heaven  ;  all  my 
bins  were  wiped  away  by  the  merits  cf  the  Son 
of  God  !  and  my  mind  now  reconciled  in 
peace  ;  I  was  willing  to  leave  the  world  ;  the 
fear  of  death  had  vanished  from  me. 

I  know  that  it  is  possible  for  mankind 
to  be  deceived  and  deluded  in  these  things, 
and  it  might  have  been  so  with  me  ;  yet  I  did 
not  doubt  then,  and  have  often  thought  since 
that  time,  that  if  I  had  then  made  my  exi!-, 
I  should  have  been  happy  afterwards,  in  a 
better  state  of  existence  than  in  this  world  ; 
but  on  mature  deliberation,  I  felt  thankful  to 
heaven,  to  that  God  who  governs  in  the  king- 
dom of  providence,  and  with  pleasure  I  sung 
the  following  beautiful  lines  : 

The  counsels  of  th'  Almighty  wise^ 

Arc  •  <-ver  failing  skill  ; 
lie     'easu     i  up  his  vasi  ci<  ^H-.^S, 

And  woi-ka  his  sovereign  AvUl  ; 

When  he  reveal'd  his  gracious  name, 
And  changed  my  n  ouniful  state  ; 

The  rupture  btxnu-'.i  a  pieusint  dreum* 
"Che  grace  uppeur'd  so  great. 


Loud  hallelujahs  to  the  Lord  : 
Let  earth  and  skies  resound, 

He  saves  the  needy  with  a  word, 
And  ull  their  foes  confound. 


I  was  now  released  from  prison,  and  thought 
once  more  of  prosecuting  my  vo}  age  to  Ameri- 
ca: but  beingdestitute  of  .money  to  bear  my  ex- 
pences,  my  former  enemies  turned  to  friends, 
.and  furnished  me  with  near  fifty  dollars  to 
.help  me  on  my  journey  ;  they  also  gave  me 
letters  of  recommendation,  and  I  then  set  out 
for  Bremen,  where  I  arrived  without  meeting 
with  any  thing  material  by  the  way,  on  the 
20th  of  Sept.  Hanover  is  a  flourishing  and  a 
thriving  city  :  it  stands  on  the  river  Seine, 
and  contains  about  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants. 
Bremen  is  a  place  somewhat  smaller,  and  car- 
ries on  a  considerable  trade-"  by  the  We-er. 
I  waited  here  seven  weeks  before  I  could 
procure  a  passage,  during  all  which  time  I 
was  nut  of  employ  ;  my  expence  :>  for  some 
necessary  clothing1,  besides  my  necessary  ex- 
pences  at  public  inns,  reduced  my  srmii  purse^ 
of  money,  and  what  to  do  in  this  situation  or 
how  to  proceed  I  was  at  a  loss  to  know,  but 
.at  last  was  necessitated  to  ruu  in  debt  for  my 
.pa^age  until  I  shmiid  arrive  at  Bai-.iD-ore. 

We  left  Bremen  on  the  26th  dav  of  No- 
verni^T,  and  after  a  severe  ami  dangerous 
voyag'%  in  which  I  \vas  a  greater  ]x»rt  of  the 
time  sea-sick,  we  arrived  in  Bnltlruor.'v  Our 
.p'ls^age  was  fourteen  weeks  i  i  \  'i  storm  ilv-it 

t  us  we  were  driven  fur  North,  out  of  our 


80 

course.  When  I  arrived  at  Baltimore,  I  shew- 
ed my  letters  of  recommendation  in  order  to 
borrow  money  to  pay  for  my  passage  ;  but 
my  friends,  or  those  who  became  such  by 
virtue  of  the  letters  which  I  delivered  them, 
being  Germans  as  well  as  myself,  they 
knew  the  disposition  of  their  own  nation,  that 
they  were  great  travellers ;  and  fearing  that 
my  natural  disposition  for  roving  would  prove 
a  disadvantage  to  me,  they  advised  me  to  bind 
myself  out  until  I  had  earned  the  full  sum 
required  for  my  passage  ;  and  that  sum  being 
sixty  five  dollars,  was  too  much  money  to 
think  of  hiring  of  strangers.  Accordingly,  I 
engaged  to  work  with  a  Mr.  Welkens  two  years 
for  this  sum,  which  he  advanced  to  my  cap- 
tain. I  had  not  been  long  with  this  man  be- 
fore he  made  me  foreman  of  his  work  shop  ; 
when  I  had  been  with  him  six  weeks,  he  said 
that  if  1  would  hear  to  him,  he  would  put  me 
in  a  way  to  make  a  fortune.  I  asked  him  in 
what  way  ?  The  way  he  told  me  was,  that 
he  had  six  thousand  dollars  worth  of  property 
in  his  hands  but  that  he  owed  for  the  whole 
of  it  to  different  persons  in  the  city  ;  and  if  I 
was  agreed  he  would  make  it  all  over  to  me, 
ind  then  go  to  jail  and  take  the  benefit  of  the 
insolvent  act ;  and  when  he  should  be  set  at 
liberty,  we  would  divide  the  property  between 
us.  I  could  not  help  rejecting  such  bare- 
faced villainy,  with  scorn  and  indignation, 
and  plainly  told  him  that  I  could  not,  and  that 


SI 

mv  conscience  would  not  suffer  me  to  deal  so 
unjustly  and  ungenerously  with  any  man.  I 
fell  myself  in  bondage  whilst  1  was  necessitated 
to  live  with  a  man  ©f  such  a  character,  and  so 
devoid  of  principle  ;  aad  when  three  months 
were  expired,  by  the  assistance  of  my  friends,  I 
offered  him  double  the  money  which  he  paid 
for  «ny  time  to  let  me  go  free ;  but  he  rtfu  .ed 
it.  1  had  formerly  thought  a  little  hard  of  those 
who  pretended  to  be  my  friends,  because  they 
did  not  at  first  advance  the  money  themselves  ; 
bur  they  satisfied  me  that  their  intentions  to- 
ward me  were  friendly  ;  they  knew  that  it  was 
much  better  for  me  to  tarry  steadily  at  one 
place  in  Baltimore,  in  the  state  of  Maryland, 
until  I  could  learn  the  English  language,  the 
manners  "of  the  inhabitants,  and  make  myself 
known,  and  raise  my  credit  as  a  workman  : 
this  was  a  piece  of  wisdom  in  them,  and  I 
had  reason  very  soon  to  thank  them  for  it ;  for 
I  found  that  I  learned  many  things  very  ad- 
vantageous to  me  afterwards.  At  the  end  of 
j.b:  months  from  the  time  of  my  arrival.  I  again 
made  my  employer  another  offer  of  double  the 
money  ;.  but  he  again  refused.  A  few  days 
afterwards  I  told  him  plainly  that  I  would 
work  for  him  no  longer  ;  he  threatened  to  pros- 
,  eciite  me,  and  I  told  him  to  do  it  immediate- 
ly. ;  determining  that  he  should  have  very 
good  fortune  if  he  found  me  in  the  city  one 
day  longer ;  and  by  the  aid  of  my  friends  I 
procured  a  passage  to  Alexandria,  a  city  in 
Virginia :  to  go  there  was  not  just  now 


l 


my  choice,  but  I  did  it  only  to  escape  a  faw- 
suir  "with   Weikens. 

Ba!iimore  is  a  pleasant  and  an  agreeabfe 
city:  lies  in  lat.  39  deg.  21  .min.  on  the 
North  side  of  Patapsco  river :  this  pleasant 
and  agreeable  city,  is  built  on  the  bunk,  or  side 
of  'he  river,  in  form  of  a  half-moon  ;  the  river 
is  cuiiv-d  the  bason,  in  u  Inch  the  water  at  cnm- 
p --'i  tides  is  ab<»iir  five  or  six  feet  deep  ;  it 
li-  s  low,  yet  the  streets  being  h.r-dsoM-.ey  pav- 
ed, it  is  tolerable  healthy,  and  business  of 
even  kind  is  current  and  prosperous here,  and 
as  good  a  place*  for  my  business  as  any  in 
the  states  of  America.  Here  are  different  pro- 
fession1* of  religions  people,  viz.  the  Ger- 
man, Calvinis^,  Lutherans,  Episcopalians, 
P  sbyterians.  Roman  Catholic.  Baptist.  Me- 
thc;dist,  Quakers,  and  New-Quakers.  The 
number  of  inhabitants,  including  Fells  Point, 
and  the  precincts,  according  to  the  census  of 
1800,  was  '16.-5  14,  of  whom  2.843  were  suives. 
M-.  Act-street  is  the  principal  street  in  the 
tovvn,  and  runs  nearly  a  mile  and  a  quarter  in 
le.igth,  East  and  West,  parallel  with  the  wa- 
ter ;  it  is-  crossed  by  several  very  handsome 
streets  leading  from  the  water  up  into  the  heart 
of  the  town.  On  the  North  and  Eas*  part  of 
the  town,  the  land?rises,  and  affords  a  fin  pros- 
pect of  the  city  and  bay  ;  the  town — the  bay, 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach— -the  Point — the 
shipping  both  in  the  bason  and  at  Fell's  Point-- 
rising ground  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  har- 
feour — a  grove  of  trees  on  the  declivity  to  the 


S3 

right — a  stream  of  water  breaking  over  the 
rock*  at  the  foot  of  the  hill   on  the  left — all 
conspire  to  complete  the   beauty   and  gran- 
deur of  the  prospect.     There  is  a  bank  esta- 
blished in  this  town,  with  a  capital  of  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars  by  the  name  of  the 
Maryland  Bank  ;  there  is,  besides,  a  branch  of 
the  Bank  of  the  United  Suites.     A  new  bank, 
was  established  by  law  in  i796,  with  a  capital 
of  five  millions  of  dollars,  called  the  Bunk  of 
Baltimore ;   a  public  library  has  lately    been 
instituted  in  the  town.     Some   idea  may  be 
formed  of  the  amazing  trade  of  this  place  from 
the   number  of  vessels  which  are  said  to  have 
passed  up  to  Baltimore  in  1795,  which  were 
109  ships,    162  brigs  and  snows,   350  schoo- 
ners and  sloops,   5464  bay  craft ;  and    before 
the  embargo  4was  laid  on  the  American  ship- 
ing,  it  was  thought  that  the  trade  in  this  port 
increased  double  to  anv  other  port  in   Ame- 
rica.     A  battery  and  barracks  have  been  con- 
structed, and  some  guns  mounted  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  town  in  case  of  invasion.     The 
laches  here  are  generally  polite  and  well  edu- 
cated ;  and  I  do  not  recollect  of  seeing  a  grea- 
ter number  of   industrious,  discreet,  amiable, 
gei  teel,  and  handsome  women  in  the&course 
ot    ay  travels  in  North- America,  than  there  is 
in  Baltimore,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
inhabitants. 

Ther  are  colleges  in  this  state,  viz.  Wash- 
ington College  was  iiihUtuud  in  i78^,  at 
CJiic&tertown  in  Kent  County,  and  was  honor* 


u 

ed  with  the  name  of  Washington  College,  af- 
ter President  Washington:  tht  second  is  at 
Annapolis,  and  called  St.  John's  College  ;  it 
was  instituted  in  1784,  to  have  25  trustees, 
with  power  to  ket- p  up  the  succession  by  sup-^ 
plying  vacancies,  and  to  receive  an  annual  in- 
con  je  of  9  GOO/. 

The  Roman  Catholics  have  also  erected  a 
college  at  George  Town 

In  1785,  the  Methodists  instituted  a  college 
at  Abington,  in  Hertford  county,  by  the  name 
of  Cokesbury  Coilege,  after  Thomas  Coke  and 
Francis  Asbury,  bishops  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  The  college  edifice  was 
of  brick,  handsomely  built,  on  a  healthy  spot, 
enjoying  a  fine  air,  and  a  very  extensive  pros- 
pect. This  building  was  burned  to  the  grourd 
some  years  ago,  and  the  society  purchased  a 
large  and  elegani  building  in  Baltimore,  where 
they  had  a  flourishing- seminary  ;  but  in  the 
year  1797,  this  was  likewise  consumed  by 
fire  :  since  that  period  they  have  made  some 
ineffectual  attempts  to  carry  their  original  pian 
into  operation,  but  it  is  believed  that  their 
funds  have  not  proved  adequate  to  the  purpose. 
The  truest  religion  was  always  the  most  per- 
secuted^ and  if  the  remark  holds  good  here, 
the  Methodist  must  have  the  pre-eminence, 
and  be  considered  as  holding  the  purest  prin- 
ciples and  doctrines  of  religion. 

But  to  return  ;  I  was  now  in  Alexandria, 
a  citv  in  Virginia,  situate  on  thf  banks  ot  the 
Potomac  river ;  it  is  handsomely  built,  and 


8* 

lies  about  eight  miles  from  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington. Here  I  turned  dancing- master,  a  busi- 
ness much  esteemed  and  of  reputation  with 
the  people  of  Virginia  ;  here  1  tarried,  and 
taught  school,  I  think  about  t\v.o  months. 
This  city  lies  in  the  district  oi  Columbia, on  the 
South  West  bank  of  Potomack  river,  in  Fair- 
fax county.  Its  situation  is  elevated  and  plea- 
sant. Its  soil  is  clay.  The  original  settlers, 
anticipating  its  future  growth  and  importance, 
laid  out  the  streets  upon  the  plan  of  Philadel- 
phia. In  18Q5,  it  contained  about  700  hous- 
es, many  of  which  are  handsomely  built ;  and 
about  5000  inhabitants.  This  town,,  upon 
opining  the  navigation  of  Potomack  river, 
and  in  consequence  of  its  vicinity  to  the  <  ity 
of  Washington,  will  probdblv  be  one  of  the 
most  thriving  commercial  places  on  the  con- 
tinent. The  inhabitants  are  very  genteel  in 
their  dress  and  deportment,  and  are  a  very 
pale  and  wholesome  looking  people.  The 
houses  are  mostly  built  of  brick,  and  the 
streets  are  very  level  ;  and  upon  the  whole, 
the  situation  of  this  people,  art-  almost  envia- 
ble ;  their  trade  is  chit  fly  in  grain  and  tobacco, 
or  at  least  was  so  in  the  year  1 800. 

I  left  this  place  for  Port- Tobacco,  on  the 
llth  day  of  Feb.  1800.  In  this  small  place  I 
found  no  employ,  and  proceeded  forward  to 
Leonard  Town,  in  Maryland.  Being  short  of 
money,  I  was  under  the  necessity  of  teaching 
a  fencing- school  in  this  place,  where  I  remain- 
ed near  two  months.  Having  cleared  about 


86 

eighteen  dollars,  I  proceeded  on  to  Norfolk. 
cicros:;  IMC  same  river  Potornack.  This  sea- 
port lies  bordering  on  .Chesspe?k  bay,  or 
Junes  river.  I  labored  about  iwo  months  at 
my  trade.  This  is  one  of  the  greatest  place's 
for  trade  in  Virginia  ;  and  contained  in  the 
year  1800,  about  6.900  inhabitants.  Nothing 
peculiar,  or  worth  relating,  happened  in  this 
place  ;  but  having  a  generous  offer,  and  a  de- 
sire yet  to  sec  more  of  the  world,  I  started  for 
St.  Domingo,  on  the  20th  day  of  March,  1801. 
We  arrived  at  this  place  on  the  7th  day  of 
May  following  :  this  was  at  the  time  of  the 
insurrection  on  the  island  amongst  the  blacks. 
A  few  days  after  my  arrival,  I  took  a  walk 
into  the  interior  with  a  view  of  seeing  the 
country  ;  but  having  gone  too  far,  before  I 
discovered  my  error,  I  was  taken  in  ambush 
by  a  party  of  blacks,  and  carried  before  Tons- 
saint,  their  chief  commander,  who  immediate- 
ly  demanded  my  passport.  I  told  him  that  I 
had  none,  and  proceeded  to  give  him  an  ac- 
count how  I  came  there,  in  hope  that  he  would 
give  me  a  passport  back  to  my  vessel  ;  but 
all  this  was  to  no  purpose  ;  he  sternly  replied, 
that!  must  either  join  with  them,  or  death 
should  be  my  portion  immediately  !  I  was 
willing  if  possible  to  live  yet  long  enough  to 
^ee  niy  native  land  ;  I  agreed  to  join  them 
out  of  policy,  in  hopes  of  an  opportunity  to 
leave  them  to  advantage  ;  this  1  was  deter- 
mined on  the  first  good  chance  which  I  could 
-meet  with.  Their  famous  general,  after  hav- 


87 

inp- examined  me  v\v.!i  many  questions  of  my 
abilities  inlar  and  dur.i./u* -  ,  in  which  he  re- 
quire.,    -nt  I  should  irca*-k  out  the  mountains, 
rivers,  &c.    and    •  he  enemy  advancing ;  and 
th..i  I  should  tell  him  in  what  manne>-  I  w   ild 
command  in  order  to   defeat  the   en.jny    and 
gain  the  victory  ;  being  more  willing  to  com- 
mand than  to  obey,  I  answered  him.   and  in- 
formed him.  as  fully  and  discreet  as  possible  : 
he  instantly  clapped  lib  hand  on  my  shoulder, 
and  with  a  smile  said,   well  done,   very  well 
done,   Sir;    i   will  give  you  the  command  of 
one  of  my  regiments,   and  do  you    perform 
valiantly    and    you    shall    have  your  reward. 
Accordingly,    the   next  day  he  gave  me  the 
command  as  colonel  over  a  regiment  of  liftmen 
hundred  men,  and  a  handsome  suit  of  uniform. 
We  received  orders   immediately  to  prepare 
for  a  sham  fight,  in  which  I  came   off  with 
honor.     After  this,  it  was  not  long  before  we 
came  to  an  engagement,  in  which  we  defeat- 
ed the  whites,  and  took  great  spoil.     Ano'li^r 
battle  soon  followed.    I  secured  eight  hundred 
Joannes  in  different  parts  of  my  clothes.  Some 
days  after  this  we  came  to  another  engagement, 
and  we  were  entirely  defeated  ;  the  situutioa 
and  circumstances  of  this   battle  were  as  fol- 
lows ;   Toussaint  and  his  army  lay  about  five 
miles  from  the  sea,  and  in  a  place  which  was 
about  fifteen  miles  from  St.  Louis,  woe; .  he 
had  retreated  to  recruit  his  army.     Although 
we  had  formerly  gained  the  victory  over  the 
\yhites  in  battle,  yet  knowing  that  they  expect- 


88 

fcd  recruits  from  France,  we  wera^continually 
on  the  look  out.  Toussaint  at  this  time  had 
with  him  about  eighteen  or  twenty  thousand 
men  ;  and  being  informed  of  the  approach  of 
the  French/with  the  light-horse  in  full  spirits, 
marching  down  on  us  with  great  haste,  he 
prepared  himself  for  battle!  He  gave  me 
on  iers  to  march  at  a  distance  from  him  on  his 
right  wing,  about  three  miles,  in  order  to  check 
a  part  of  the  enemy  who  mighr  be  sent  round 
upon  his  rear  ;  this  stand  I  took,  at  near  three 
miles  distant  from  him,  as  observed  ;  in  my 
rear  was  the » sea  ;  on  my  right  was  a  small 
river  and  lofty  mountains.  I  took  this  stand 
without  precipitation  or  fear,  expecting  only 
a  few  of  the  enemy  to  combat  with  ;  but  being 
obliged  to  defend  this  passage,  there  was  no 
other  stand  to  take  where  I  could  calculate  on 
a  safer  place  for  retreat  in  case  of  necessity  ; 
however  we  did  not  calculate  much  on  retreat- 
ing,  and  the  event  proved  fatal !  for  Toussaint,. 
iging  the  right  wing  of  the  enemy,  and  the 
cst  being  very  hot  and  obstinate,  they 
gave  way,  and  retreated  before  him  ;  he  having 
observed  that  they  were  pressing  down  on  rne, 
sent  orders  immediately  that  I  must  defend 
my  post  until  the  last  man  was  killed  on  the 
spot !  Doing  different  from  his  orders  I  knew 
would  be  immediate  death  !  and  I  was  obliged 
to  fight.  Six  or  eight  thousand  came  down 
upon  us  with  great  courage  and  force,  and 
well  they  might,  seeing  themselves  to  be  four 
or  five  times  the  number  ;  but  the  little  hand- 


89 

full  of  black  men  gave  them  a  very  warm  re- 
ception ;  Ljjiink  that  I  never  saw  any  kind  of 
men  fight  so  furious,  and  that  appeared  so  };t- 
tle  daunted  at  the  view  of  death  !  But  they 
believed  that  slavery  was  worse  than  death  ! 
they  were  very  strict  in  their  discipline,  and 
if  one  of  them  stooped  down  whilst  they  were 
marching,  or  created  the  least  disorder,  he  was 
shot  through  immediately.  When  the  enemy 
came  within  shot,  I  gave  orders  to  the  platoons 
to  stand  firm  to  their  posts,  and  repulse  them 
or  die  on  the  spot !  The  platoons  of  the  enemy 
advanced,  and  gave  the  first  fire  ;  it  was  re- 
turned with  spirit ;  we  had  not  engaged  them 
on  their  right  but  a  few  minutes,  where  I  had 
concluded  to  make  my  retreat  if  possible,  and 
indeed  the  enemy  engaged  us  first  on  our  left 
to  cut  off  our  dependance  on,  and  relief  from 
the  main  army,  before  the  enemy's  horse  ad- 
vanced ;  the  platoons  of  the  enemy  ceased 
firing,  and  they  cut  up  the  chief  of  this  regi- 
ment in  a  few  minutes.  Such  a  furious, 
stubborn  and  unequal  engagement  I  believe 
was  seldom,  if  ever  fought ;  to  see  such  wretch- 
ed havoc  made  of  human  flesh  and  blood,  al- 
though they  were  men  of  colour,  was  intol- 
erable !  this  was,  however,  not  a  time  for  the 
exercise  of  the  feelings  of  humanity  ;  and  my* 
only  care  devolved  on  the  security  of  my  own 
life  ;  my  only  way  of  escape  was  on  the  right,, 
and  with  all  the  power  of  flight  I  passed  the 
river,  and  climbing  over  the  ragged  and  lofty 
mountains,  I  hastened  toward  the  sea ;  and 

H    ° 

.U      A*. 


90 

finding  two  pieces  of  hewed  timber,  fastened 
together,  about  two  feet  in  width,  sixteen  feet 
in  length,  and  swiming  two  inches  out  of  the 
water,  I  ventured  to  embark  on  them  ;  with 
a  small  stick,  which  1  found  on  the  shore,  I 
paddled  out  to  sea.  When  about  one  mile 
from  the  shore,  I  was  taken  up  by  a  British 
vessel  bound  to  the  city  of  Alexandria  in 
Egypt ;  this  may  be  thought  by  some  timo- 
rous people  to  be  great  presumption  in  me, 
to  venture  into  the  broad  ocean,  commit  my- 
self to  the  rnercy  of  the  waves,  and  be  liable 
to  be  swallowed  up  every  minute ;  but,  to 
tarry  on  the  shore  was  death  !  and  there  was 
hope  in  this  adventure,  for  the  sea  was  very 
calm,  and  at  no  great  distance  I  saw  stveral 
vessels  from  whom  I  expected  relief,  and  by 
this  means  my  life  was  saved. 
.  My  readers  will  expect  a  brief  description 
of  this  island.  It  lies  between  the  17th  and 
21st  degrees  of  North  latitude,  and  the  67th 
arid  74' h  of  West  longitude,  being  in  the  mid- 
dle between  Cuba  and  Porto  Riro  ;  and  is  450 
miles  long,  and  150  broad.  The  face  of  the 
island  presents  an  agreeable  variety  of  hills, 
vallies,  woods  and  rivers  ;  and  the  soil  is  allow- 
ed to  be  extremely  fertile,  producing  sugar, 
cotton,  indigo,  tobacco,  maize,  and  cassava 
root.  I  was  informed,  that  before  the  revolu- 
tion this  island  was  one  of  the  most  enviable 
spots  on  the  earth  :  it  was  the  garden  of  the 
world  !  such  was  r  French  part  of  Si  D;  min- 
go  in  1789,  biu,  aias  !  it  is  no  more;  destructive 


91 

uavages'of  an  unrelenting  insurrection,  oF  fright- 
ful massacres,  and  conflagrations,  have  laid 
waste  ail  those  beautiful  settlements  ;  reclucx  d 
thr  buildings  to  ashes,  and  laid  low  in  dust, 
or  scattered  in  exile  its  wretched  inhabitants* 
In  two  battles  in  which  I  was  obliged  to 
fight,  before  the  last,  and  in  which  we  gained 
the  victory,  they  put  all  the  white  inhabitants 
to  the  sword,  and  took  the  spoil  ;  this  spoil  was 
delivered  to  the  chief  general,  who  divided  it 
as  it  pleased  him  amongst  his  officers,  and  the 
officers  distributed  among  the  soldiers,  as  they 
saw  fit.  The  black  man  of  this  place  were 
far  more  sensible  than  those  which  1  find  in 
North  America,  or  it  might  appear  so ;  as 
black  men,  possessing  their  liberty,  hav  more 
roo  n  for  the  exercise  of  their  talents  tj.v?n 
those  who  are  in  a  state  of  slavery.  In  short, 
this  island  has  now  a  black  Emperor,  by  the 
iwme  of  Crisrophe  :  he  has  declared  him  ;<:lf 
Emperor  of  Hay  ti,  and  St.  Domingo  may  now 
be*  considered  as  an  empire  of  blacks.  How 
long  he  will  ho;d  his  dominions  against  the 
arms-and  opposition  of  the  European  Nations, 
time  only  will  determine. 

But,  as  I  before  related,  I  was  now  in  a 
good  ship,  bound  to  Alexandria  ;  this  was  far 
from  my  wishes,  as  my  o.ily  and  chief  desire 
was  to  get  a  passage  back  to  America  ;  but 
glad  of  any  fortune  whi^h  relieved  me  from 
m<  captivity  in  S;  Domingo,  prt  pared  my- 
seif  to  be  contented  with  my  lot.  T!V.'  mo- 
ney which  I  had  about  me,  amounting  to 


92 

about  12.800  dollars,  was  sufficient  to  bear 
my  expences,  without  labor  or  difficulty,  to 
any  part  of  the  world.  We  arrived  at  Alex- 
andria on  the  16th  of  Oct.  this  same  year, 
A.  D.  1801.  Egypt  like  many  other  refined 
nations  of  antiquity,  has  greatly  degenerated 
into  a  state  of  rudeness,  ignorance  and  barbar- 
ity, i.  e,  if  what  history  has  said  of  their  for- 
mer grandeur,  riches  and  glory  be  true,  for 
at  the  present  time  they  are  a  most  worthless, 
abject  people.  The  streets  of  Alexandria,  are 
now  continually  filled  with  fortune-tellers, 
those  who  practice  slight  of  hand,  and  almost 
every  other  evil  practice  imaginable  :  some  of 
almost  all  nations  are  to  be  found  here,  but 
strangers  resort  here  only  for  traffic,  and  to  make 
money.  This  famous  city  lies  on  the  Levant 
coast  :  it  was  once  the  emporium  of  all  Eu- 
rope, and  by  means  of  the  red  Sea,  furnished 
them  with  the  riches  of  the  Indies  :  it  owes 
its  name,  to  its  ancient  founder  Alexander  the 
j^reat.  Mahometanism  is  the  prevailing  reli- 
gion throughout  Egypt ;  and  the  Coptic  lan- 
guage, and  the  modern  Greek,  is  the  common 
language.  There  are  no  men  of  learning  in 
Egypt  worthy  of  notice  in  histor^. 

The  greatest  curiosities  of  note  in  this  an- 
cient and  noted  country,  is  their  pyramids  of 
prodigious  height ;  their  antiquity  is  beyond 
the  bounds  of  history  itself;  and  their  original 
histories  and  uses  are  still  unknown  ;  the  basis 
of  the  largest  covers  eleven  acres  of  ground, 
and  its  perpendicular  height  is  500  feet,  but 


if  measured  obliquely  to  the  terminating  point 
it  is  700  Her.  In  short,  the  pyramids  oi  Egypt 
are  the  most  stupendous,  and,  to  appearance, 
the  most  useless  structures  that  ever  were 
raised  by  the  hands  of  men. 

As  1  once  mentioned  something*  of  the 
practice  in  legerdemain  and  slight  of  hand,  I 
shall  now  mention  a  concluding  curiosity  which 
is  found  in  Egypt,  viz.  a  certain  people  here, 
that  appear  to  some  entirely  a  mystery  ;  they 
are  called  Psylli,  who  have  the  faculty  of  en- 
chanting the  most  venomous  serpents,  so  that 
they  shall  have  no  power  to  bire  or  hurt 
them,  though  they  retain  all  their  mischievous 
qualities  with  regard  to  others-  Some  of  them 
will  handle  the  most  venomous  reptiles  of  this 
kind  as  if  they  had  been  laces,  and  some  of 
them  will  eat  living  serpents,  beginning  at  the 
tail,  and  proceeding  all  the  way  up  to  its  head, 
without  the  creatures  offering  to  resent  such 
a  violent  ir.jury  ;  and  such  of  them  as  prac- 
tice these  things,  appear  mysterious,  and  will  - 
not  say  any  tiling  algtfK  it,  from  whence  they 
derive  their  power  orauthority.  But  1  believe 
it  is  all  done  by  slight  of  hand. 

The  productions  of  Egypt  are  grain  in  plen- 
ty, corn,  mellons,  dates,  figs,  plantains,  sugar- 
cane, olives,  flax,  -cptton,  indigo,  &c.  It 
abounds  in  cattle  and  many  other  things,  I 
think  that  at  former  times  it  must  have  pro- 
duced every  thing  necessary  for  human  sub- 
sistence, in  profusion,  (if  the  scripture  be  true), 
which  1  cannot  say  that  I  have  any  reason  to 


94 

doubt ;  and  that  if  it  was  as  well  cultivated 
as  formerly,  rt  is  probable  it  would  produce 
in  the  same  abundance  :  but  there  has  been 
so  many  overturns,  destructions,  Sec.  in  Egypt, 
and  good  husbandry,  has  been  so  discouraged 
by  the  im-g'.iior  establishments  of  conquerors 
in'jxist  cenniries,  that  it  is  no  wonder  it  pre- 
sorts a  scene  of  destruction  and  dissipation, 
as  it  is  at  ih<-  present  period  ;  and  Egypt  may 
thank  its  ia^t  conquerors  and  governors  for  its 
present  wretched  situation  ;  for  human  lan- 
guage is  insufficient  to  describe  the  misery  of 
an  Egyptian  village  !  The  huts  of  the  Irish 
are  palaces  compared  with  the  Arab's  style  : 
each  dwelling  is  entirely  of  mud  ;  in  form  like 
an  oven,  ten  feet  square,  high  enough  in  the 
middle  for  a  man  to  stand  upright; ,  here  the 
whole  family  live,  eat  and  sleep.  A  miserable 
people  !  the  curse  of  the  whole  earth.  1  was 
tired  of  such  a  wretched  place  of  residence, 
and  quit  them,  as  soon  as  possible. 

I  will  not  omit  mentioning  one  thing  more, 
viz,  the  extraordinarjJteLress  of  the  women ; 
the  left  shoulder  and^KiIf  of  the  lefift>reast 
is  naked  in  their  best  dress,  as  they  walk  the 
streets  ;  they  are  but  thinly  covered  with  chains 
of  gold  and  laces,  loosely  hanging  round  and 
over  their  breast ;  their -g owns  reach  but  a  few 
inches  below  their  knees ;  but  for  a  substitute, 
their  stockings  reach  some  distance  above  the 
knee,  and  are  adorned  with  very  handsome 
ribbons,  crossed  six  or  eight  times  from  the 
.shoes  up  across  the  leg,  under  the  short 


95 

clothes  ;  their  shoes  are  made  of  morocco 
leather,  or  very  good  silk,  and  their  gowns 
are  generally  of  red  and  white  chintz,  silk, 
muslin,  &c  :  upon  the  head  they  have  a  very 
flashy  and  rich  kind  of  head-dress,  adorned 
with  jev  vels,  according  to  their  several  abili- 
ties ;  and  upon  the  whole,  a  stranger  on  his 
first  appearance  in  the  streets  of  Alexandria, 
would  hardly  know  what  kind  of  creatures 
they  were  at  first  sight  ;  but  by  their  pride 
and  seeming  importance  they  must  think  that 
they  make  a  very  fine  and  splendid  appearance. 
The  more  I  have  travelled  the  world,  the 
more  I  find  that  fashion  has  made  every  thing 
look  decent  and  elegant. 

However,  I  prepared  for  leaving  this  place, 
as  I  have  already  observed,  and  enquired  for 
a  passage  for  the  continent  of  America,  but 
could  find  none.  Finding  a  vessel  direct  for 
China,  I  bought  a  parcel  of  coffee  and  other 
merchandize,  with  an  intent  to  trade  with  the 
Chinese.  1  embarked  on  board  of  her  on  the 
30th  day  of  Oct.  and,  sailed  for  Canton.  Af- 
ter this  voyage  I  was  determined  to  sail  for 
America.  We  had  a  pleasant  voyage  until 
we  were  within  three  days  sail  of  Canton. 
Our  captain  was  a  small,  slim  man,  of  an  in- 
nocent character  ;  and  although  the  chief  part 
of  the  cargo  was  owned  in  France,  yet  the  cap- 
tain as  well  as  myself  had  a  very  handsome 
property  on  board  the  ship  ;  but  missing  in 
his  reckoning  I  expect  he  run  his  vessel  too 
the  land,  and  when  he  endeavoured  to 


her  off,  the  wind  b>  ing  heavy  and  blow* 
ing  a  v-c-ry  iresh  gale  would  not  permit ;  it  in- 
creased to  a  storm,  greu  exc-  vding  violent,  and 
drove  us  on  a  bar  ;  the  ship  was  immediately 
wrecked,  and  fast  filling  with  water ;  ail  the 
hands  on  board,  were  in  great  consternation 
and  amazement,  the  night  was  dark,  neither 
moon  nor  stars  appeared,  the  heavens  were 
covered  with  universal  darkness,  and  we 
could  not  tell  how  far  we  were  from  the  shore  ; 
at  first  thought,  we  expected  that  every  soul 
of  us  would  be  inevitably  lost,  but  our  cap- 
tain, whilst  the  women  were  crying  and  wring- 
ing their  hands  in  the  cabin,  and  their  husbands, 
with  the  sailors,  looking  with  amazement  and 
confusion  on  each  other,  ordered  the  long  boat 
to  be  hoisted  over  into  the  sea.  I  observed 
this  movement  of  the  captain,  as  I  run  back 
and  forward  on  deck  ;  and  went  to  my  trunk 
to  take  out  the  money,  about  thret  hundred 
joannas,  which  I  had  deposited  there  in  my 
purse  for  trade  with  the  Chinese.  Just  as  I 
returned  to  the  side  of  the  ship,  I  heard  the 
sound  of  the  captain's  voice  on  board  the  boat ; 
I  also  observed  two  ©r  three  men  in  it,  by  h<  ip 
of  the  flash  of  lightning  which  came  just  then, 
attended  with  rolling  thunder ;  but  striving  to 
save  my  property,  had  like  to  cost  me  my  life : 
for  when  I  espied  the  boat,  she  was  started  off 
from  the  ship,  and  I  sprung  into  it,  leaving 
my  money  on  deck.  It  being  dark,  I  fell  on 
the  gunnel  of  the  boat,  with  one  leg  a<  H  o  e 
arm  in  the  water ;  one  of  the  sailors  took  hold 


(J7 

of  me,  and  drew  me  into  the  boat;  the  captain 
let  her  di  ive  before  the  storm,  we  had  oars  in 
the  boat,  but  the  sea  was  too  rough  to  make 
any  use  of  these  ;  we  were,  however,  soon  un- 
der way  enough  to  fill  the  helm  ;  how  far  we 
were  from  the  shore  we  could  not  tell,  but 
having  often  thrown  the  lead  on  board  the  ship, 
and  finding  but  shallow  water,  we  deemed 
that  we  could  not  be  far  from  land  ;  but  before 
we  had  been  driven  many  minutes,  we  had  ta- 
ken in  considerable  water,  and  was  every 
minute  terrified  with  the  apprehension  of  sink- 
ing to  the  bottom  !  We  soon  struck  on  land, 
it  \vas  so  dark  that  we  were  unable  to  tell 
whether  it  was  the  main  land,  an  island,  or  a 
bar  of  sand  ;  but  feeling  around  the  boat  with 
one  of  our  oars,  we  found  that  it  was  land ; 
and  quitting  our  boat,  we  hailed  each  other 
with  tears  of  joy  for  the  happy  deliverance 
from  the  general  fate  of  our  unfortunate  feliow- 
sufterers  on  board  the  ship  !  -They  only  who 
knew  by  lameatable  experience  my  feelings  for 
the  poor  sufferers,  can  have  any  idea  of  their 
wretchedness  and  misery  !  When  we  left  the 
ship,  some  of  them  were  running  back  and 
forward  in  the  vessel ;  some  praying  end  cry- 
ing for  mercy,  and  the  cabin  ringing  with  the 
shrieks  and  lamentations  of  the  poor  p  vs^en- 
gers  !  They  knew  that  the  Jong  boat  ».vas 
put  out,  but  the  prospect  to  them  appcarcu  at 
the  best  but  a  trlfie  better  than  death  !  To 
tarry  on  board  was  certain  destruction  !  and 
thev  were  all  preparing  to  leave  the  ship  as 

i 


98 

soon  as  they  could  clothe  themselves  sufficient- 
ly to  endure  the  storm  ;  and  had  not  the  cap- 
tain pushed  off  the  boat  just  as  he  did,  it  would 
doubtless  have  been  so  filled  that  the  whole 
company  would  have  sunk  to  the  bottom. 

As  soon  as  we  found  ourselves  safely  on 
land,  we  composed  ourselves  as  well  as  the 
circumstances  would  admit,  under  a  tree,  until 
the  morning  light ;  we  then  arose  and  looked 
after  the  ship,  but  could  see  nothing  of  her  : 
beyond  a  doubt,  she  stove  to  pieces  and  went 
to  the  bottom  with  every  soul  on  board  !  We 
had  no  fire,  and  no  tinder- box  to  kindle  any  ; 
but  by  rubbing  two  pieces  of  wood  together, 
we  soon  brought  fire.  On  this  desolate  and 
uninhabited  island  we  continued  three  weeks 
before  we  had  any  relief ;  here  we  subsisted 
entirely  on  the  fruits  of  the  different  trees  and 
shrubs  that  grew  on  the  island.  We  travelled 
over  part  of  the  island  at  different  times,  but 
found  nothing  but  wild  beasts,  reptiles  ard 
vermin  that  inhabited  this  terrible  desart.  We 
saw  the  tracks  of  beasts  that  were  uncommon- 
ly large,  and  with  which  we  were  entirely  un- 
acquainted, I  had  heard  the  roaring  of  a  lion 
when  I  was  young,  and  here  I  heard  the  same 
sound  at  a  distance  on  the  island  :  the  captain 
said  that  as  he  travelled  out  a  small  distance, 
lie  often  heard  the  roaring  of  lions !  and 
would  often  say  that  our  lives  were  in  danger ; 
but  they  came  not  near  in  the  day,  and  at 
night  we  made  a  fire  sufficiently  large  to 
affright  them  from  us  :  we  had  heard  that  no- 


99 

thing  terrified  these  ber  *  so  mud-  ?.s  fire.  \Ve 
passed  away  the  tim-  i  re.  in  hunting  after 
something  to  eat,  and  wood  to  keep  up  our 
fire  ;  in  this  manner  we  subsisted  three  wet 
as  I  observed,  before  we  .suw  any  ..'dice  w!  :i 
fortuan?  teh'  one  night  we  discoveied  a  ship,  by 
her  lights,  not  far  off ;  we  immediately  hailed 
her  with  all  'the  art  and  strength  in  our  power  ; 
she  answered  us,  and  the  captain  sent  his  boat 
on  shore  and  took  us  on  board.  When  we 
came  on  board,  we  found  that  she  was  bound 
for  Charleston  in  the  state  of  South-Carolina 
in  North  America ;  at  which  port,  after  a  plea- 
sant passage,  we  arrived  on  the  1 6th  day  of 
Feb.  A.  D.  1802.  I»was  now  in  a  good  coun- 
try, but  having  lost  all  my  property,  was  again 
as  poor  as  ever. 

The  island  in  the  East- Indies  on  which  we 
suffered  this  ship  wreck,  lies  in  lat.  2S  deg. 
North,  and  about  95  deg.  East  longitude. 

Being  now  in  America,  I  concluded  to  be- 
gin to  work  again  at  my  trade.  I  entered 
into  the  employ  of  Mr.  Inglesby,  the  first 
merchant,  tay lor  in  this  city  ;  but  as  might  be 
expected,  after  a  ship  wreck,  very  short  o 
cloathing ;  however  this  was  not  a  thing  that 
I  was  entirely  unacquainted  with,  and  I  soon 
recruited  a  fresh  stock.  With  this  gentleman 
I  worked  three  months,  until  I  acquired  both 
clothes  and  money.  The  poor  captai'i  was 
not  so  well  provided  for ;  he,  nevertheless, 
found  a  passage  to  France,  by  a  vessel  out 
of  Charleston.  I  was  advised  to  go  to 


100 

fort,  which  I  did,  and  commenced  business 
for  myself.  I  carried  it  on  with  good  advan- 
ta^t  for  a  few  moiiibs  ;  but  all  things  did  not 
suit  me  here,  ar-c]  I  ^rew  discontented  and  re- 
turned to  Charleston,  where  trade  and  business 
was  more  brisk  and  lively,  t-nd  flowed  in  from 
every  part.  I  hired  an  apartment  in  a  public 
house,  and  carried  on  business  ;  several  of 
my  old  companions  coming  to  see  me,  we 
took  a  walk  on  a  certain  evening,  and  seeing 
several  young  gentlemen  very  busy  and  very 
earnestly  engaged  in  some  seeming  business 
of  importance,  we  stepped  in  to  see  what 
they  were  about,  and,  soon  found  it  to  be  a 
gambling- house.  Observing  many  that  won 
great  sums,  I  thought  that  I  must  try  my 
fortune  too  ;  I  accordingly  soon  commenced 
the  business,  and  having  a  good  run  of  luck, 
I  won  550  dollars  ;  thus,  for  the  first  time  in 
my  life,  I  commenced  gambling  ;  the  next 
clay,  being  the  i5th  day  of  Aug.  I  waited 
with  intolerable  impatience  for  the  approach  of 
night,  that  I  might  have  another  opportunity 
of  increasing  my  purse,  for  I  had  a  great 
opinion  of  my  own  abilities  in  this  new  busi- 
ness, and  withal,  I  thought  it  was  a  very  easy 
way  of  making  money  and  acquiring  an  es- 
tate. Night  approaching,  I  repaired  to  my 
new  occupation,  with  exhilarated  spirits  and 
abundance  of  success,  in  my  own  imagination  ; 
but  fortune  however  favorable  before,  was 
not  willing  to  encourage  a  practice,  which  was 
so  much  the  source  and  fountain  of  every  kind 


IGi 


of  evil;  and  especially  h.id  va  -^  -a  vend-  i 
to    destroy    my    own   spin  ;  and  diirii  g  this 

;-oru    a-f  tJ?e>iiiu< 


night  it  deprived  me  «pt;-oruy 
which  I  took  from  the  bank,  the  night  before, 
but  also  took  away  all  the  money  which  I  had 
before  in  my  purse.  I  then  returned  to  my 
lodging  with  a  disconsolate  and  heavy  heart, 
and  resolved  never  to  gamble  any  more  during 
life,  let  the  temptation  be  what  it  would. 

This  district  contains  about  57.000  inhab- 
itants of  which  16.000  are  computed  to  be 
whites.  It  is  the  only  considerable  town  in 
South  Carolina,  and  is  almost  surrounded  with 
water;  the  refreshing  sea-breezes,  which  are 
regularly  felt  here,  render  Charleston  more 
healthy  than  any  of  the  low  countries  in  the 
southern  states  ;  on  this  account  it  is  the  resort 
of  great  numbers  of  gentlemen,  invalids  from 
the  West-  India  islands,  and  of  the  rich  plant- 
ers from  the  country,  who  come  here  to  spend 
the  sickly  months,  (as  they  are  called),  in  quest 
of  health,  and  of  the  social  enjoyment  which 
the  city  affords;  and  in  no  part  of  America 
are  the  social  blessings  enjoyed  more  rationally 
and  liberally  than  in  Charleston  ;  unaffected 
hospitality,  affability,  ease  in  manners  and  ad- 
dress, and  a  disposition  to  make  the  guests 
welcome,  easy  and  pleased  with  themselves, 
are  characteristics  of  the  respectable  people  in 
Charleston.  The  land  on  which  the  town  is 
built  is  flat  and  low,  and  the  water  brackish 
and  unwholesome.  The  streets  from  East  to 
West,  extend  from  river  to  river,  and  running 
i  2 


102 

in  a: straight  iin^v not  only  open  beautiful  pros, 
pects  each  way,  butufford  excellent  opportu- 
Vii  ties.'1  Toy  means/of  subterranean  drains,  for 
removing  all  nuisances,  and  keeping  the  city 
clean  and  healthy.  These  streets  are  intersect- 
ed by  others  nearly  at  right  angles,  and  throw 
the  town  into  a  number  of  squares,  with  duell- 
ing houses  in  front,  and  office  houses  and  little 
gardens  behind.  Some  of  the  streets  are  con- 
veniently wide,  but  most  of  them  are  much 
too  narrow,  especially  for  so  populous  a  city, 
in  so  warm  a -climate.  Besides  narrow  streets 
being  a  nursery  for  various  diseases,  from 
their  confined  situation,  they  are  found  ex- 
tremely inconvenient  in  case  of  fires,  the  des- 
tructive effects  of  which  have  been  frequently 
felt  in  this  city.  The  houses  lately  built  are 
brick  with  tiled  roofs  :  some  of  them  are  ele- 
gant and  well  finished.  The  public  buildings 
are  a  state- house,  an  exchange,  armory,  poor- 
house,  two  large  churches  for  Episcopalians, 
two  for  Congregationalists,  or  independents ; 
one  of  these  lately  built  is  of  brick,  of  a  'ir- 
cular  form,  the  diameter  of  the  circle  within 
the  wails  88  feet,  an  elegant  edifice,  erected 
at  an  ex  pence  of  more  than  30.000  dollars; 
one  for  Scotch  Presbyterians;  one  for  Baptists, 
one  for  German  Lutherans,  two  for  Methodists, 
(a  large  house  for  worship  being  lately  finish- 
ed by  them),  one  for  French  Prottsta  '$, 
besides  a  meeting  house  for  Quakers,  d  Ro- 
man cutholic  chapel,  and  a  Jewish  synagogue. 
Jn  1767,  it  was  computed  that  there  were 


103 

1600  houses  in  Charleston,  9.600  white 
inhabitants,  and  5.400  negroes,  and  what 
evinces  the  healthiness  of  the  place,  upwards 
of  200  of  the  white  inhabitants  were  above  60 
years  of  age.  In  1791,  there  were  16  ^59 
inhabitants,  of  whom  7.684  were  slaves  ;  in 
the  year  1800,  there  was  18.712,  of  whom 
9.053  were  slaves. 

1  mentioned  my  passing  through  Beaufort : 
a  description  of  this  place  was  neglected  on 
account  of  its  being  small,  and  not  of  much 
note  in  the  commercial  world  ;  but  I  A  ill  just 
mention  that  it  is  a  very  healthy  place ;  it  is 
an  island,  and  lies  about  sixty  miles  South  of 
Charleston ;  its  growth  is  very  rapid,  and  con- 
tains about  150  houses. 

Having  given  a  general  description  of 
Charleston  and  its  inhabitants,  1  proceed  with 
my  journal ;  and  as  1  noticed,  I  lost  all  my 
money,  and  determined  to  leave  the  uncer- 
tain fortunes  of  gaming  for  a  steady  and  res- 
pectable employment  in  some  other  line  of 
business.  I  now  took  my  departure  for  Co- 
lumbia, at  which  place  1  arrived  on  the  26th 
da>;  of  August.  In  this  place  I  remained 
•two  months  :  this  is  the  seat  of  government, 
and  a  college  has  been  built  here  since  I  left 
the  place  ;  its  situation  is  West  of  Charleston, 
ab-.mt  one  hundred  miles;  it  is  a  very  plea- 
sant place  ;  the  chief  products,  are  grain  a  id 
co;;on  ;  tin -re  are  only  two  long  handsome 
streets,  with  a  few  cross  ones  at  right  angles, 


104 
I 

in  this  town  :  it  lies  half  a  mile  from  the  river, 
with  four  stores,  and  public  inns  in  plenty,  and 
very  good  accommodations  and  civil  behavior 
amongst  the  inhabitants  ;  the  soil  is  very  good. 
Daring  the  time  that  I  tarried  here,  I  became 
acquainted  with  a  certain  French  Doctor,  and 
in  fact  a  gentleman ;  he  was  disinterestedly 
my  friend  ;  his  name  was  Delaine :  he  propos- 
ed putting  me  in  a  fair  way  of  making  my 
fortune,  by  sending  me  as  super-cargo  on  a 
voyage  to  the  West- Indies  in  a  vessel  of  his 
own  ;  but  he  had  a  notion  of  sending  me  to 
college,  to  acquire  the  knowledge  of  the 
English  language,  navigation,  &c.  This  plan 
of  his  originated  from  friendship  to  me,  as  he 
always  told  me  he  had  a  peculiar  fancy  for  my 
turn  and  disposition.  But  something  partic- 
ular in  my  views  of  business  and  enjoyments 
at  that  period,  prevented  me  from  accepting 
of  his  kind  and  generous  offer  ;  and  I  shall 
ever  mention  his  name,  the  name  of  Delaine, 
with  expressions  of  the  highest  respect  and 
esteem. 

Being  desirous  of  seeing  more  of  North- 
America,  and  finding  nothing  peculiar  to  pre- 
vent my  travels,  I  set  off  once  more,  and  took 
my  leave  of  this  friendly  gentleman.  Full 
spirited  I  left  the  place,  and  proceeded  to 
Augusta  in  Georgia,  about  sixty-five  miles 
from  Columbia.  At  this  place  1  arrived  on 
the  3d  Nov.  1803.  Here  I  remained  about 
eighteen  months,  and  carried  on  my  business 
with  very  good  success  :  I  empio)  ed  eight  or 


105 

ten  journeymen  the  chief  of  the  time,  and  had 
plenty  of  employ  ;  here  I  furnished  myself 
with  books  on  philosophy  and  chemistry  ; 
these. books  I  studied  with  attention  and  plea- 
sure during  my  leisure  hours.  Georgia  was  a 
climate  by  far  too  warm  for  my  constitution, 
especially  if  I  subjected  myself  to  labor,  and 
accordingly  I  did  nothing  at  my  business,  but 
cut  out  and  sold  the  work,  and  by  this  means 
had  often  an  opportunity  to  peruse  my  books  : 
these  books  infused  the  notion  that  I  could 
build  a  balloon  ;  and  being  minded  to  make 
money  a  little  easy  sometimes,  as  well  as  my 
neighbors,  after  several  fruitless  attempts  I 
succeeded  in  building  a  small  one,  and  let  it 
go  up  ;  but  before  I  completed  this  one,  I 
had  made  as  many  as  eight  or  ten,  which  cost 
me  five  or  six  dollars  each,  besides  all  my 
trouble,  and  was  often  heartily  laughed  at  be- 
fore I  had  made  one  to  answer  my  purpose  : 
indeed  almost  every  where  I  went  they  would 
laugh  about  my  balloons. 

I  now  bought  me  a  horse  and  chair,  settled 
my  business,  and  taking  with  me  about  eight 
hundred  dollars,  departed  for  Nashville,  in  the 
state  of  Tennessee. 

Georgia  is  a  state  of  some  commerce  ;  its 
length  is  260  miles,  and  its  breadth  250  :  it 
lies  in  lat.  31  and  35  North,  and  Sand  10 
cleg.  40  rnin.  West  longitude  from  Philadel- 
phia— Bounded  East  by  the  Atlantic  ocean, 
South  by  East  Florida,  West  by  the  Cherokee 
nation,  Northeast  and  North  by  South  Caro- 


106 

lina ;  it  is  sickly  in  this  state,  during  the 
mouths  of  July,  August  and  September. 
Savannah,  Oakmulge  and  the  Oeone,  are  the 
only  great  rivers  in  Georgia.  The  seat  of 
government  now,  is  in  Millegeville,  in  the 
new  purchase  which  was  made  in  1806  ;  in 
this  place  are  already  200  houses  ;  the  beauti- 
ful state- house  here,  cost  the  state  of  Georgia 
1 10,000  dollars  ;  it  stands  in  the  centre  of  the 
city  on  an  elevated  part.  This  town,  is  si-.uate 
within  one  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  river 
Ocone,  about  180  miles  from  Savannah. 
But,  as  I  said,  1  was  now  in  Nashville  on 
the  16th  day  of  April  1 805  :  with  six  hundred 
dollars  which  I  had  in  my  pocket,  I  concluded 
to  try  my  ingenuity,  and  proposed  to  build  a 
balloon,  and  gave  out  a  subscription  paper, 
to  find  what  the  people  v/ould  subscribe  to 
see  it  rise  ;  and  being  fond  of  novelty,  they 
subscribed  eight  hundred  dollars.  When  my 
balloon  was  completed  and  the  time  appointed 
for  the  exhibition,  the  people  assembled,  about 
ten  thousand  !  and  contributed  about  five 
hundred  dollars  more.  All  things  being  ready, 
I  entered  the  balloon,  and  gave  orders  to 
cut  the  ropes  and  let  it  ascend  ;  they  obeyed 
orders,  but  it  ascended  only  four  or  five  feet, 
before  it  fell  again  :  on  examination,  1  found 
that  there  were  three  holes  cut  through  it, 
by  which  the  inftarnable  air  escaped  and 
passed  out,  which  prevented  it  from  rising ; 
we  mended  the  balloon,  and  made  new  in- 
flamable  air  and  infused  into  the  balloon,  but 


107 

it  burstcd,  bearing  heavier  on  these  places 
than  others  ;  and  I  then  gave  up  the  business, 
and  offered  them  their  money  back  again  : 
some  of  them  took  it  back  willingly,  others 
reluctantly ;  but  eventually  all  received  it : 
these  holes,  were  cut  by  designing  men  who 
had  previously  laid  wagers  in  heavy  suins^ 
that  the  balloon  would  not  rise ;  but  having 
addressed  the  people,  informing  them  of  my 
misfortunes,  they  expressed  themselves  in 
terms  the  most  grateful  and  friendly  on  my 
behalf ;  the  cost  of  this  air  balloon  was  six 
hundred  dollars,  which,  with  other  expen- 
ces,  amounted  to  the  chief  part  of  what  I 
possessed  in  the  world. 

The  gentlemen  of  character  seemed  to  com- 
miserate my  situation ;  they  followed  me  to 
the  public  house  where  I  put  up,  and  one 
Gen.  Robinson  came  to  me  and  in  an  affec- 
tionate and  friendly  manner  offered  me  two 
hundred  dollars  ;  I  was  unwilling  to  accept  it 
of  him,  as  I  believed  that  it  was  given  from 
his  own  private  property,  but  he  crowded  a 
one  hundred  dollar  bill  into  my  waistcoat 
pocket ;  after  him,  Maj.  Lewis  came  and  in- 
sisted that  I  should  take  of  him  one  hundred 
dollars  more,  which  I  did  ;  after  him  came  I 
think  Mr.  Jones,  a  tanner;  he  lived  about  six 
miles  from  Nashville,  about  South- East,  and  . 
without  suffering  me  to  express  any  reluctance 
to  his  generosity,  gave  me  two  hundred  dol- 
lars, saying,  that  if  I  ever  possessed  indepen- 
dent property,  I  might  send  it  back  to  him 


108 

again;  and  that  if  I  would  consent  to  set  up 
any  business  in  Nashville,  he  would  let  me 
have  in  advance  one  thousand  dollars.  These 
friendly  donations  from  gentlemen  of  the  first 
character,  very  seriously  affected  me  and  drew 
tears  or  joy  from  my  eyes.  This  sum  of  four 
hundred  dollars  was  restoring  two  thirds  of 
my  expence  in  building  of  the  air-balloon. 
Thus,  by  the  vulgarity  and  envy  of  a  few  ill 
bred  men,  ten  thousand  honest  and  good  ci- 
tizens lost  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  this  great 
improvement  in  nature,  for  which  they  came 
many  of  them  ten  and  fifteen  miles  ;  so  it  is 
sometimes,  that,  as  said  the  wise  man  Solo- 
mon, one  sinner  destroys  much  good ;  there  are 
always  some  people,  who  live  as  a  moth  to  the 
community  at  large  ;  those  characters,  that  are 
not  profitable  either  to  God  or  man,  or  to 
themselves,  are  generally  of  short  duration  on 
the  earth  ;  for  the  supreme  judge  and  gover- 
nor of  the  world  reckons  them  as  chaff,  and 
like  the  husbandman  sweeps  them  away  as 
the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floor  :  soon 
ihey  receive  their  payment,  or  shortly  will,  ac- 
cording to  their  works. 

Being  tired  and  provoked  by  the  inhuman 
conduct  of  this  people,  I  settled  all  my  busi- 
ness and  departed  for  Natches,  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi Territory.  In  this  journey  we  were 
very  much  di scorn  ITU  ded  by  the  heat  and  small 
flies,  or  musquittos;  the  afflictions  and  trouble 
we  had  with  these  creatures  were  intolerable. 
It  was  on  the  22nd  day  of  August,  that  I 


109 

out  on  my  journey  for  this  fifteen  hundred 
mile  voyage,  and  all  the  way  by  water.  In  our 
passage,  there  were  six  of  us  in  company, 
these  terbultnt  creatures,  like  an  army  of  un- 
relenting fruies,  seemed  determined  to  eat  us 
up,  if  possible,  before  we  had  arrived  at  the 
end  of  our  journey,  for  we  could  have  no 
rest  day  or  night ;  in  the  day  time  we  would 
make  out  to  travel  well,  but.  in  the  night  sea- 
son it  was  impossible  to  rest ;  and  if  it  had 
been  possible  that  we  could  have  laid  still,  we 
should  have  been  deprived  of  every  drop  of 
blood  in  our  veins  by  the  morning  light ;  but  it 
was  impossible;  however,  we  slept  by  turns,  and 
those  who  kept  awake  brushed  oft'  the  musquit- 
toes  from  those  who  slept,  until  we  had  descend- 
ed these  Mississippi  waters.  This  river  is  from 
a  mile  to  a  mile  and  half  wide  ;  as  we  descended, 
we  observed  that  on  the  left  side  the  banks 
were  uneven,  sometimes  rising  into  hills,  at 
other  times  sinking  into  almost  a  level  with 
the  river  ;  on  the  right  hand,  the  banks  were 
very  level,  and  afforded  a  very  handsome  pros- 
pect where  the  land  was  cultivated  and  cleared 
up  ;  but  in  general  it  was  a  wilderness,  or  ra- 
ther a  thicket  of  caries,  shrubs,  &c.  We  went 
on  shore  to  tarry  and  take  our  rest  at  night, 
for  thestream,  i.e.  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi, 
were  so  rapid  that  we  were  unable  to  proceed 
in  the  night  season. 

Nashville,  the  place  where  I  built  my  air- 
balloon,  was  a  place  of  -some  importance, 
ihough  not  of  much  trade;  it  is  situated  "m 


no 

latitude  35  deg.  45  min.  North.  It  is  called 
after  Brigadier- General  Francis  Nash,  who  fell 
on  the  4th  of  October,  1777,  in  the  battle  at 
Germantown,  in  defence  of  his  country  ;  is  a 
growing  town,  situated  on  the  banks  of  Cum- 
berland river ;  the  U.  States  superior  courts, 
the  district  court  for  West  Tennesee,  are  held 
twice  a  year  at  this  place.  The  court  for  the 
District  of  Mero,  and  for  the  county  of  David- 
son, are  also  held  here.  It  is  about  200  miles 
from  Knoxville,  and  has  now  about  500  inha- 
bitants. Nothing  could  be  made  here  by  buy- 
ing any  articles  of  trade,  arid  transporting 
down  the  river ;  howbeit,  on  my  passage  I 
came  athwart  some  very  good  whiskey,  and 
very  cheap,  and  expecting  to  make  something 
of  the  bargain,  I  bought  500  gallons  of  it,  and 
embarked  it  to  sell  at  Natches.  When  I  arriv- 
ed at  this  place,  I  offered  it  for  sale  at  an  ad- 
vanced price,  but  could  get  no  more  than 
what  at  first  it  cost  me,  losing  my  trouble, 
expence,  &.c.  I  was  about  three  weeks  on  this 
passage,  and  nothing  peculiar  happened  neces- 
sary to  mention,  except  what  I  have  written. 

In  Natches  I  arrived  on  the  22nd  day  of 
August,  1805.  Knowing  that  I  was  now  ca- 
pable of  building  a  balloon  that  would  rise,  I 
concluded  to  satisfy  my  curiosity  for  once,  in 
having  the  pleasure  to  rise  up  in  -one  of  them 
that  I  might  have  die  satisfaction  of  viewing 
the  beautiful  country  of  America,  in  one  beau- 
tiful landscape  ;  to  see  the  distant  hills,  the  val- 
lies  and  rivers,  and  in  short  the  face  of  the  whole 


Ill 

country,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  extend,  I  consi- 
dered as  no  small  satisfaction.  Accordingly,  I 
should  have  given  out  subscriptions  for  the  pur- 
pose, as  it  is  a  place  where  novelty  and  curiosi- 
ties are  subject  to  meet  with  great  encourage- 
ment ;  but  finding  my  own  purse  too  light,  I 
concluded'  to  abandon  the  idea.  However, 
to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  the  inhabitants,  I 
made  one  of  paper,  and  let  it  go.  It  rose 
up  and  went  out  of  sight,  we  never  saw  it  any 
more  ;  this  balloon  was  about  twenty  feet  high, 
and  cost  me  about  fifteen  dollars, 

Natches  is  situated  about  iat.  31  deg.  30 
min.  North,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  Mississippi,  and  is  an  incorporated  city, 
containing  about  uvo  hundred  houses,  and  six 
hundred  inhabitants;  they  trade  chiefly  from 
Tennessee,  Kentucky  and  Ohio  ;  their  articles 
of  commerce  are  mostly  cotton,  indigo  and 
grain ;  their  exports  consist  in  cottoji  and 
indigo ;  they  are  chiefly  Episcopalians  and 
Presbyterians.  Fruits  are  plenty  here,  such 
as  oranges,  pears,  peaches,  apples,  figs,  warer- 
mellons,  &c.  &c.  It  was  said  that  snow  is 
seldom  if  ever  seen  in  this  latitude.  This 
country  bids  fair  to  become  in  a  few  years  a 
wealthy,  powerful  part  of  the  United  States. 

I  left  Natches  and  went  to  Point  Coupce, 
a  French  settlement  :  it  lies  about  150 
miles  from  Natches  and  New- Orleans,  from 
each  an  equal  distance  ;  a  handsome  and 
wdl  regulated  settlement  on  the  bank,  the 
West  sicL-2  of  the  Mississippi  :  the  people  arc 


112 

very  hospitable  and  kind  to  strangers,  very 
rich  and  wealthy  ;  their  trade  is  carried  on  to 
New-One.ms  chiefly,  and  the  soil  affords  al- 
mooc  every  l;'.'iri  <-/:  fruit  pleasant  to  the  taste  ; 
the  productions  for  exportation  are  sugar,  cot- 
ton, indigo,  rice,  oranges,  figs,  apricots,  8tc. 
Peaches,  plumbs,  and  a  few  apples  for  com- 
mon use  are  found  here  ;  the  prospect  is  very 
delightful  :  on  the  whole  it  is  in  my  opinion 
the  best  and  pleasantest  place  in  North- Amer- 
ica :  to  see  the  vessels  passing  the  river,  and 
so  many  handsome  buildings  on  both  sides 
for  near  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  increases 
the  beauty  of  the  country  beyond  description, 
giving  it  an  elegance  and  beauty  excelling  any 
thing  in  the  United  States  of  America.  I 
made  another  air-balloon  here,  in  form  and 
quality  like  that  in  Natches. 

From  this  place  I  took  a  passage  by  land 
and  went  to  New-  Orleans,  where  1  arrived  on 
the  18th  day  of  November.  Here  I  built  me 
another  air  balloon,  the  exhibition  of  which 
brought  me  something  handsome  ;  I  believe 
it  cost  me  about  one  thousand  dollars,  and 
i lie  sums  of  money  which  I  took  in  by  sub- 
scriptions amounted  to  about  twenty-five  hun- 
dred dollars  !  A  great  number  of  spectators 
attended  the  exhibition  of  this  (to  them) 
strange  phenomenon  !  I  gave  orders  to  my 
attendants  to  cut  the  ropes  ;  they  immediately 
obeyed,  and  the  balloon  arose  and  ascended 
about  half  a  mile,  with  myself  only  in  the 
ch  lir ;  when  I  let  out  the  inflamable  air,  and 
descended.  I  -had  an  agent  to  coltett  this 


ll'S 

money,  who  took  it  with  him  and  absconded  , 
where  he  went  I  knew  not,  but  1  entirely 
despaired  of  ever  seeing  him  again  :  this  man 
I  had  been  acquainted  with  before,  and  he 
had  been  well  recommended  to  me  as  a  just, 
respectable  and  honest  man  ;  he  was  a  Span- 
iard, and  as  the  Spaniards  have  the  name  of 
being  very  honest  to  their  trust,  I  thought 
that  I  had  the  more  reason  to  confide  in  his 
veracity.  1  have  found  bv  fatal  and  sad  ex- 
perience, that  it  is  not  this  nation  or  that  ; 
but  a  traveller  must  confide  in  him  only  whom 
he  has  found  to  be  an  honest  and  generous 
man  whoever  he  may  be,  whether  he  be  Turk, 
Jew,  German,  Frenchman,  Scotchman,  Irish- 
man, Englishman;  or  American ;  an  honest 
man  is  an  honest  man,  let  him  belong  to  what 
nation  he  may  ;  and  what  chic  fly  concerns  me, 
is  first  to  find  out  the  principle  of  a  man, 
whether  he  be  a  man  of  ability  and  virtue  ;  if 
he  is  so,  I  am  done  with  either  jealousy  or 
prejudice  against  him  on  account  of  his  nation 
or  pedigree. 

Having  lost  almost  all  my  money,  I  knew 
not  which  way  to  turn,  or  what  to  do  ;  but  by 
accident  I  found  that  there  was  always  busi- 
nes  enough  for  all,  provided  th;*t  they  were 
disposed  to  take  hold  of  it ;  i.  e.  there  was  a 
gentleman  in  town  that  understood  the- nature 
of  Legerdemain  very  well.  Necessity  drove 
me  to  him.  I  went  and  conversed  on  the  sub- 
ject of  my  loss,  and  on  the  uncertainty  of 
fortune ;  he  was  one  of  my  former  acquaint. 
}<  2 


114 

ances,  and  acquiesce/i  cheerfully  in  my  senti- 
ni-.v-'ts  respecting  many  things,  and  as  1  was 
a  -ranger  as  well  as  himself,  and  thrown  in 
d<  b<  and  difficulty  by  means  of  my  absconding 
agent,  he  offered  me  his  assistance,  which  I 
accepted  ;  he  instructed  me  in  his  art,  and  re- 
ceived me  into  partnership  in  all  his  exhibi- 
tions, by  which  fortunate  circumstance,  I  was 
able  to  make  remittances  to  my  creditors,  and 
also  acquired  money  to  perform  my  journey 
to  the  Havanna,  in  pursuit  of  my  absconding 
agent.  Four  or  five  days  concluded  this  short 
voyage ;  it  is  but  a  few  days  sail  from  New- 
Orleans. 

Havanna  is  the  capital  of  the  island  of  Cuba, 
and  a  place  of  great  strength  and  importance, 
and  contains  about  2000  houses,  with  a  great 
number  of  churches  and  convents,  It  was 
taken  by  the  English  in  the  year  1762,  but 
restored  in  the  subsequent  treaty  of  peace. 
A  small  part  of  this  island  only  is  yet  cleared, 
and  the  chief  part  of  the  plantations  are  on 
the  beautiful  plains  of  the  Havanna  ;  they  are 
cultivated  by  about  25.000  slaves.  The  other 
inhabitants  are  about  30.000.  They  are  Span- 
ish, and  their  religion  the  Roman  catholic. 
The  latitude  of  this  island  is  between  20  and 
23  deg.  30  min.  North,  and  74  and  55  deg. 
15  min.  West  longitude.  The  soil  is  called 
the  best  of  any  in  America,  and  produces  all 
the  commodities  known  in  the  West-Indies. 
The  climate  is  very  hot,  and  often  very  sickly  ; 
'-.h'.Te  is  a  fine  breeze  of  wind  from  the 


115 

land  every  forenoon,  beginning  about  nine  or 
ten,  and  lasthg  until  near  twelve  o'clock; 
there  is  an  afternoon  breeze  which  comes  in 
from  sea  ;  it  begins  at  about  three  o'clock 
and  lasts  till  in  the  evening;  this  make  a 
great  part  of  the  day  very  comfortable.  The 
dress  of  the  inhabitants  is  very  old  fashioned ; 
the  men  are  of  a  very  dark  complexion,  like 
the  Spanish  nation  in  general ;  the  ladies  are 
of  much  fairer  complexion,  though  not  so 
fair  as  the  French,  English,  or  American 
ladies  ;  their  food  is  not  prepared  with  that 
elegance  or  taste,  which  might  be  expected 
from  the  wealth  of  the  inhabitants.  Their 
religion  is  of  the  spurious  kind  ;  they  will 
attend  mass  in  the  forenoon,  confess  their 
sins  and  receive  the  sacrament,  and  in  the 
after  part  of  the  day  attend  the  ball. room, 
and  other  places  of  merriment  with  dancing, 
playing  on  instruments  of  music,  and  all 
kinds  of  indulgences,  the  same  as  on  any 
*)ther  day  of  the  week. 

I  sai'ed  from  New  Orleans  on  the  2?d  of 
D-c.  and  arrived  in  Havanna  on  the  25th, 
and  b  ing  disappointed  of  seeing  my  agent, 
who  had  absented  himself  before  my  arrival, 
I  was  again  in  low  circumstances.  I  had 
now  no  other  way  bat  to  build  an  air-bal- 
loon again;  not  having  money  sufficient  to 
erect  it,  I  made  use  of  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation which  I  received  of  the  Spanish 
Governor  in  New- Orleans  ;  by  virtue  of  this 
letter  I  acquired  the  friendly  aid  of  a  meiv 


116 

chant  in  the  city  of  Havanna,  to  perform  a 
fi  r  achievements  with  fire- works,  though 
In-  vas  not  willing  to  assist  me  in  the  build- 
ing of  a  balloon  :  in  the  performance  of  these 
wo-'ks  I  met  the  entire  approbation  of  the 
public  in  general,  and  those  of  note  in 
particular;  by  these  exhibitions  I  received 
six  hundred  and  seventy  five  dollars. 

Taking  with  me  a  complete  recommendation 
from  the  Spanish  Nobility  in  the  Havanna,  I 
immediately  embarked  for  Ln  Vera  Cruz,   at 
which  place  I  arrived  on  the  19th  day  of  Jan. 
1806.     I  had  a  very  agreeable  passage  and 
a  quick  voyage  to  this  place.    On  my  arrival, 
I  presented   my  letters  of  recommendation  to 
the    governor,   and  requested  his  permission 
to   exhibit    in    such  feats,  as   1  should  find 
most  convenient ;  he  granted  me  my  request, 
but  jhere  again,  I  had  not  a  sufficiency  of  money 
to  proceed :  however,   according  to  my  for- 
mer fashion,    I  applied  to  my  best  friends, 
the  nobility ;    1  called  them   my  friends   as 
they  were  the  most  fond  of  plays  ;  by  their 
assistance   I  was  able  to  proceed,  and  built 
a  balloon  in  about  three  weeks  ;  I  prepared, 
and  made  ready  for  exhibition  ;  but  before  I 
"began  my  exhibition,  I  took  care  to  secure  the 
money  subscribed  by  the  inhabitants,   which 
amounted  to  t\vo  thousand  four  hundred  dol- 
lars.    After    which,    I    arose    and   ascended 
ab  jut  one  mile  up  in  the  air ;  and  then  de- 
scc  nded,  at  a  distance  of  about  two  miles  from 
the  place  where  I  went  up ;  1  believe  there 


117 

were  eight  or  ten  thousand  spectators,  to 
view  this  scene  of  novelty  :  in  about  three 
weeks  after  this,  I  erected  an  illuminating 
lire- work  ;  this  so  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  people,  that  it  became  the  object  of  their 
admiration  and  applause  ;  they  made  full  com- 
pensation for  my  labor  in  all  these  achieve- 
ments. In  about  two  weeks  after  this  last 
performance,  I  received  a  recommendation 
from  the  governor  and  nobility  at  Vera-Cruz, 
to  the  governor  and  nobility  of  Mexico  ;  but 
as  we  are  about  to  leave  this  island,  I  will  here 
give  a  short  description  of  it.  It  is  situate  on 
the  gulph  of  Mexico,  between  lat.  20  and  25 
deg.  North,  and  carries  on  a  great  trade  with 
Mexico  in  Spanish  America.  The  soil  is 
very  good  and  fertile,  producing  cotton,  coffee, 
rice,  sugar,  and  grain,  and  fruits  of  various 
kinds  which  are  common  in  the  West- India 
islands.  •  The  climate  is  very  hot,  but  fine 
breezes  from  the  sea  are  common  in  the  fore 
and  after  part  of  the  day  ;  in  July,  August 
and  September,  it  is  generally  sickly  !  The 
manners  and  customs  of  the  people,  are  much 
like  those  of  the  people  of  the  Havana  ; 
it  is  a  place  of  commerce  with  all  parts  of 
Europe,  and  is  a  great  place  for  shipping. 

Oa  the  12th  Oct.  I  left  Havanna  for  New- 
Mexico,  and  arrived  there  on  the  18th  day  of 
the  same  month  in  1806.  This  city  lies  ujjl 
lat.  19  deg.  26  min.  North  ;  it  is  the  oldest 
city  in  America,  of  which  we  have  any  ac- 
count ;  by  the  account  of  its  inhabitants,  it 


118 

was  founded  long  before  the  discovery  of  this 
wevbiem  world  by  Columbus,  in  the  year  1492, 
for,  it  is  said  to  be  founded  by  the  natives,  as 
eajriy  as  the  year  1325.  It  is  situated,  in  the 
charming  vale  of  Mexico,  on  several  small 
islands,  in  lake  Tetzuco,  in  North  lat.  19 
deg.  26  min.  and  276  deg.  34  min.  of  West 
longitude  from  Ferro.  This  vale  is  surround- 
ed with  lofty  and  verdant  mountains  !  and 
formerly  contained  no  less  than  forty  eminent 
cities,  besides  villages  and  hamlets.  The  city 
is  subject  to  frequent  inundations,  as  is  easily 
accounted  for  from  its  local  situation,  the  lake 
in  which  it  stands  being  the  reservoir  of  the 
v/c)  ers  flowing  from  the  neighboring  moun- 
ts i  as.  There  are  various  opinions  concerning 
the  ancient  population  of  this  city  ;  such  his- 
torians as  are  mostly  to  be  relied  on,  say  that 
it  was  nearly  nine  miles  in  circumference,  und 
contained  upwards  of  60.000  houses,  contain- 
ing from  four  to  ten  inhabitants  each  :  others 
hnve  reckoned  120.000,  and  some  130.000 
houses.  By  .a  Jate  accurate  enumeration, 
iv,ade  by  the  magistrates  and  priests*  the 
present  number  of  inhabitants  exceed  200.000. 
The  ancient  inhabitants  of  South- America 
seem  to  have  been  emigrants  of  different 
ir.u'^ns,  from  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this 
northern  r-uiiuaent ;  this  opinion,  I  have  drawn 
their  having  built  such  commodious  and 
nt  cities,  at  such  an  early  period,  and 
t-  ;  huivinrr.  according  to  the  history  of  their 
rb,  lived  muchaUer  the  customs  and 


traditions  of  some  of  the  eastern  nations ; 
but  when  it  was  by  them  discovered  and 
at  first  inhabited,  is  unknown. 

The  greatest  curiosity  in  Mexico  is  their 
floating  gardens.  When  the  Mexicans,  about 
the  year  1325,  were  subdued  by  the  Coihuan 
and  Tapanecan  nations,  and  confined  to  the 
small  islands  in  the  lake,  having  no  land  to  cul- 
tivate they  were  necessitated  to  form  moveable 
gardens,  which  floated  on  the  lake  :  their  con- 
struction is  very  simple ;  they  are  made  of 
light  wood,  or  willows  twisted  together  and  so 
firmly  compacted  as  to  form  a  sort  of  plat- 
form that  is  sufficiently  strong  to  bear  up  the 
earth  which  makes  the  garden  ;  on  this  founda-  4 
tion  they  lay  light  wood  and  bushes  which  float 
on  the  water,  and  over  them  spread  the  mud*-* 
and  dirt  which  they  draw  up  from  the  bottom 
of  the  lake.  Their  regular  figure  is  quad- 
rangular, or  nearly  square ;  their  length  and 
breadth  various,  generally  from  6  to*8  rods 
long,  and  about  half  as  wide  ;  they  swim  about 
a  foot  out  of  water  :  these  were  the  first  fields  - 
that  the  Mexicans  owned  after  the  foundation 
of  Mexico ;  there  they  cultivated  the  maize, 
great  pepper  and  other  plants,  necessary  for 
their  support.  From  the  industry  of  the  peo- 
ple, these  fields  soon  became  numerous. 
They  now  cultivate  flowers  of  every  kind  .upon 
them.  I  was  never  on  one  of  them,  but  daily  ? 
saw  them  floating  by  the  city  on  the  lake. 
Every  day  of  the  year,  at  sun  rise,  innumerable 
vessels  orjboats.,  loaded  with  various  kinds  of 


120 

flowers  and  herbs  which  are  cultivated  in  these 
gardens  are  seen  arriving  by  the  canal,  at  the 
great  market  place  of  Mexico.  All  kinds  of 
plants  thrive  in  them  exceedingly  ;  the  mud  of 
the  lake  makes  a  very  rich  soil,  which  requires 
no  water  from  the  clouds.  In  the  largest  gar- 
den there  is  commonly  a  little  hut  and  a  little 
tree,  to  shelter  the  cultivator  or  gardener  from 
the  sun  or  rain ;  they  move  these  gardens  at 
pleasure,  and  wherever  they  please.  That 
part  of  the  island  where  these  gardens  are,  is 
the  most  delightful  part  of  the  island ;  here 
the  traveller  may  enjoy  the  highest  satisfaction, 
being  surrounded  with  every  possible  gratifica- 
tion. The  buildings,  which  are  of  stone,  are 
convenient ;  and  the  public  edifices,  especially 
the  churches,  are  magnificent !  and  the  city 
has  the  appearance  of  immense  wealth. 

The  trade  of  Mexico  is  carried  on  in  three 
great  branches,  which  extend  over  the  whole 
world.  By  La-Vera-Cruz,  it  is  extended 
throughout  Europe  ;  with  the  East  Indies,  by 
Acapulco,  which  is  about  2 10  miles  to  the  south 
west  of  Mexico;  and  with  South  America,  by  the 
same  port ;  and  although  the  two-places  men- 
tioned,  are  keys  to  the  trade  of  the  eastern  and 
European  world,  yet  Mexico  is  to  be  consider- 
ed as  the  centre  of  commerce  for  this  part  of 
the  world  ;  for  here  the  principal  merchants 
trade  and  reside,  and  the  greatest  part  of  the 
business  is  negociated.  The  East- India  goods 
from  Acapuloo,  and  the  European  from  Vera 
Cruz,  also  pass  through  this  city  Cither  nil 


121 

the  gold  and  silvrer  comes  to  be  coined,  here 
king's  fifth  is  deposited,  and  here  are  wrought 
all  those  utensils  and  ornaments  in  plate  which 
are  every  year  sent  through  Europe. 

History  informs  us  that  the  empire  of 
Mexico  was  subdued  by  Cortes  in  the  year 
1521.  Monte zu  ma  was  at  that  ti me  em peror 
of  Mexico.  In  the  course  of  the  war,  he  was 
treacherously  taken  by  Cortes,  and  held  as  a 
prisoner.  During  the  imprisonment  of  Mou- 
tezuma,  Cortes  and  his  army  had  made  re- 
peated attacks  on  his  subjects,  but  without 
success.  Cortes  was  now  determined,  as  his 
last  resource,  to  try  what  effect  the  interpo- 
sition of  Monte  z  urn  a,  might  have,  to  soothe 
or  overawe  his  subjects.  This  unfortunate 
prince,  at  the  mercy  of  the  treacherous  Span- 
iards, and  reduced  to  the  sad  necessity  of 
becoming  the  instrument  of  his  own  disgrace, 
and  of  the  slavery  of  his  subjects,  advanced  to 
the  battlements  in  his  royal  robes,  in  all  the 
pomp  in  which  he  used  to  appear  on  solemn 
occasions  !  At  sight  of  their  sovereign,  wliom 
they  had  been  long  accustomed  to  honor,  and 
almost  to  revere  as  a  god !  the  weapons 
dropped  from  their  hands,  every  tongue  was 
silent,  bowed  their  heads,  and  many  prostrat- 
ed themselves  on  the  ground  !  Motxtezwrna, 
addressed  them,  with  every  argument  that 
could  mitigate  their  rage,  or  persur.de  them 
from  hostilities!  When  he  ended  bis  discou 
a  sullen  murmur  of  disapprobation  ran  • 
crovvd  ;  to  this,  succeeded  reproaches 


122 

threats ;  and  their  fury  rising  in  a  moment, 
they  violently  poured  in  whole  flights  of  ar- 
rows and  vollies  of  stones  upon  their  unhappy 
monarch  !  two  of  the  arrows  struck  him  in 
his  body,  which,  with  the  blow  of  a  stone  on 
his  temple,  put  an  end  to  his  life. 

Guatimozin  succeeded  Monte zuma,  and 
maintained  a  vigerous  opposition  against  the 
assaults  of  Cortes.  But  he,  like  his  prede- 
cessor, after  a  noble  defence  was  forced  to 
submit.  Previous  to  this,  being  aware  of 
his  impending  fate,  he  had  ordered  that  all 
his  treasures  should  be  thrown  into  the  lake. 
While  a  prisoner,  on  suspicion  of  his  having 
concealed  his  treasure,  he  was  put  to  the  tor- 
ture ;  this  was  done  by  laying  him  on  burn- 
ing coals  ;  but  he  bore  whatever  the  refined 
cruelty  of  his  tormentors  could  inflict,  with  the 
invincible  fortitude  of  an  American  warrior. 
One  of  his  chief  favorites,  his  fellow- sufferer, 
being  overcome  by  the  violence  of  the  anguish, 
turned  a  dejected  eye  towards  his  master, 
which  seemed  to  implore  his  permission  to 
reveal  all  that  he  knew  ;  but  the  high  spirit- 
ed prince  darted  on  him  a  look  of  authority 
mingled  with  scorn,  and  checked  his  weak- 
ness by  asking,  "  Am  I  reposing  on  a  bed 
of  flowers?"  Overawed  by  the  reproach,  he 
persevered  in  dutiful  silence  and  expired. 
Cortes,  ashamed  of  a  scene  so  horrid,  rescued 
the  royal  victim  from  the  hands  of  his  tortur- 
ers, and  prolonged  a  life  of  new  indignities 
and  bufferings  !  Cortes  died  in  Spain,  in  the 


123 

year  1547,  in  the  62nd  year  of  his  age.  En- 
vied by  his  cotemporaries,  and  ill  requited  by 
the  court  which  he  served,  he  has  been  admir- 
ed and  celebrated  by  succeeding  ages.  By 
his  own  desire  he  was  carried  to  Mexico,  and 
buried  there. 

This  is  the  place  where,  and  the  people 
amongst  whom,  I  had  the  misfortune  to  spend 
the  most  prosperous  and  most  afflictive  part 
of  my  life  ;  prosperous  in  the  course  of  my 
first  acquaintance  with  them,  and  afflictive,  on 
account  of  the  superstitions  of  the  people, 
during  all  the  remainder  of  the  time  which 
I  spent  amongst  them.  When  at  iirst  I  en- 
tered the  city,  I  presented  my  credentials  to 
the  Governor  and  nobility,  desiring  their 
probation  for  the  exhibition  of  the  things 
which  were  performed  in  Vera-Cruz  ;  I  gain- 
ed their  consent  and  approbation,* and  imme- 
diately proceeded  to  construct  an  air- balloon, 
which  I  accomplished  in  six  weeks.  By  the 
assistance  of  those  who  were  friendly  to  the 
novelty  of  the  exhibition,  I  received  subscrip- 
tions to  the  amount  of  six  thousand  seven 
hundred  dollars*  I  then  proceeded  to  the 
exhibition,  and  ascended  in  the  balloon  about 
three  miles  up  in  the  air,  and  without  difficulty 
descended  again.  This  was  matter  of  agree- 
able surprise  and  astonishment  to  the  ignorant 
and  superstitious  Mexicans.  As  I  was  well 
paid,  and  had  collected  the  money  subscribed 
for  my  ex  pence  in  this  business,  I  v, 
well  satisfied.  I  should  have  ascended  higher, 


124 

bn t  the  probable  difficu I ty  of  alighting  on  ac- 
count of  (he  lakes  and  rivers,  if  the  wind  had 
arisen,  :  :d  ;  UT  i'-:  -hose  parts  oi  Ameri- 

ca sudden  gusts  of  wind  with  showers  of  rain 
are  apt  to  rise  unexpectedly  and  with  but 
liitle  warning  ;  and  the  movement  of  a  balloon 
should  be  slow,  if  we  go  with  safety. 

Having  now  exhibited  one  of  the  most  curi- 
ous philosophical  novelties  which  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  city  had  ever  witnessed,  I  was 
contented  with  the  praise  and  adulation  that 
I  continually  met  with  from  persons  of  every 
class  and  description.  I  concluded  that  they 
had  much  more  than  rewarded  me  for  my  ex- 
pence  aixf trouble,  and  on  the  whole  they  appear- 
ed a  very  kind  and  generous  people.  In  re- 
turn for  their  gratitude  I  determined  to  exhibit 
something  still  more  pleasing  and  entertain- 
ing if  possible  ;  and  accordingly  prepared  in 
three  weeks  after  my  descent  in  the  balloon  an 
illuminating  lire- work,  and  exhibited  it  gratis, 
i  iv- re  turn  for  their  liberality.  This  also  met 
the  high  approbation  of  the  people,  and  in  par- 
ticular those  of  the  learned  and  nobility  ;  the 
ju'xt  day  I  received  an  invitation  from  the  Go- 
vernor of  Mexico,  to  come  and  dine  with  him  ; 
to  this  invitation  I  was  obliged  to  signify  my  as- 
sent through  fear  of  an  exception  being  taken, 
if  I  refused  what  they  termed  a  high  honor  ; 
though  I  cannot  say  but  that  I  had  some  fears 
with  respect  to  the  friendship  pretended  in 
the  invitation.  When  I  came  to  the  Gover- 
nor's house,  1  found  several  officers  of  distinc- 


125 

tion,  and  a  great  number  of  the  nobility  present, 
where  we  a^nt  the  dav  in  ail  possible  spltn- 
dor.  The  pople  here  having  a  much  more 
exalted  opinion  of  my  abilities,  than  what  I 
had  formerly  thought  myself  to  possess,  flat- 
tered  my  pride  to  the  highest  degree  imagina- 
ble ;  they  treated  me  like  a  prince  !  their  ad- 
dresses evinced  the  greatest  possible  attention, 
and  they  extolled  me  to  excess,  even  to  the 
clouds  !  but  this  is  always  the  case  \viih  those 
who  are  brought  up  in  superstition  and  bigo- 
try ;  at  one  moment  we  are  almost  gods  !  and 
at  the  next  we  are  almost  demons  unfit  to  live, 
By  such  bigoted  people  as  these,  Paul  and 
Barnabas,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Chris- 
tian aera  were  first  declared  to  be  gods  come 
down  to  them  in  the  likeness  of  men  !  and  in  a 
short  period  of  time  afterwards  they  were  ston- 
ed and  dragged  out  of  the  city  ! 

But  to  speak  of  my  days  of  prosperity  in 
Mexico.  I  now  thought  that  my  days  of 
trouble  and  anxiety  on  the  earth  were  finished  ! 
and  pleasures  were  now  returning,  to  console 
the  heaving  sigh,  and  bless  the  afflicted  son  of 
sorrow  !  I  had  money  in  plenty,  but  needed 
it  not ;  my  friends  in  this  noble  city  had  given 
the  spontaneous  flow  to  the  full  supply  of  all 
my  wants  ;  here  were  my  happiest  duys,  and 
I  only  waited  a  few  more  rolling  suns  to  waft 
me  on  the  prosperous  gaJe  of  riches,  honor, 
joy  and  independent  happiness !  My  days 
were  now  as  pleasant  and  calm  as  the  eve  of 
summer,  and  not  a  murmur  or  unpleasant 

' 


126 

countenance  from  morning  to  evening  appear- 
ed >  and  I  contemplated  fortune,  with  all  its  train 
or  attendants,  for  my  happy  companions.  And 
now  my  ambition  peculiarly  inspired  with  a 
desire  to  please,  prompted  me  forward  ;  and  I 
conceived  that  I  must  continually  feed  the 
luxuriant  expectations  of  these  people  with 
some  new  phenomenon  !  I  accordingly  gained 
the  Governor's  permission  to  eiect  a  machine 
that  would  attract  the  Helming  from  the 
clouds  :  my  utensils  being  in  readiness,  I  took 
the  advantage  of  a  very  warm  and  sultry  day 
when,  according  to  the  common  course  of  na- 
ture, the  showers  and  lightning  passed  over  us  ; 
and,  as  I  perceived  them  coming  near,  1  ad- 
vanced with  my  machinery  to  the  top  of  a  very 
high  tower  in  the  city,  and  prepared  it  to  at- 
tract an  unusual  degree  of  the  lightning. 
Some  of  the  nobility  were  attendant  with  me 
on  this  occasion,  "and  I  pointed  with  my  fin- 
g  r  to  a  certain  point,  saying  there  is  the  place 
where  you  will  see  the  livid  lightning  decend- 
in^  I  spoke  this  with  some  doubt  as  1  knew 
not  exactly  the  nature,  or  power  of  the  clouds  ; 
1  trembled  for  my  honor,  lest  it  should  nor  be 
much  increased  by  this  operation  ;  hou  ver, 
it  fully  answered  my  ex  '>ectut.ions  and  the 
lightning  descended  and  struck  or.  the  point 
to  which  it  was  directed.  This  rtw  electrical 
work  pleased  to  the  life,  especially  the  higher 
ranks  of  nobility  :  the  lightning  poured  down 
wH*  Mich  rapid,  livid  fl^me,  that  I  found  my- 
self in  dagger,  aud  was  oUiged  to  withdraw 


127 

with  my  instruments.  This  strange  pheno- 
menon in  ai^literate  and  uncultivated  part  nif 
the  world,  dfew  again  the  admiration  and  p 
li  applause  to  excess  ;  but  having  a  few  of  the 
first  characters  with  me,  who  had  read  Doct. 
Franklin  on  electricity,  and  who  well  knew 
the  nature  of  such  things  and  that  there  was 
danger  of  the  city's  being  damaged  by  the 
lighmirig,  1  was  then  advised  to  withdraw 
the  machine  ;  and  as  a  very  heavy  cloud  seem- 
ed to  hang  over  us,  I  was  afraid  that  it  was 
not  safe  to  continue  it,  and  accordingly  vvi^d. 
drew  it  as  above  mentioned,  When  I  returned 
from  the  exhibition,  some  of  the  inhabitants 
e  ed  me  with  a  mixture  of  jealousy  and  ad- 
m'-ation,  as  though  it  had  been  something  su- 
pernatural 

After  this  was  done,  to  draw  the  attention 
and  please  the  inhabitants,  I  prepared  my  ma- 
chines for  something  of  a  more  extroardin.iry 
nature.  I  first  engaged  three  rooms  in  a  public 
house  or  hotel,  and  prepared  machineries  !br 
the  exhibition  of  several  extraordinary,  nnd 
(to  them)  surprising  feats  ;  this  exhibition  was 
intended  to  be  the  iast  that  I  should  exhibit  in 
the  city  of  M  xico  ;  and  w  is  given  as  a  present-- 
for  the  generosity  and  kindness  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  in  panicuJnr  those  of  the  first  in  re- 
putation. Accordingly  I  invited  the  Governor 
and  his  lady,  and  about  forty  or  fifiy  of  the 
mo>?  noted  and  respect ;ble  inhabitants,  i  e, 
ladi<  •-  jnd  gent'e.nen  of  the  city.  In  orde-  o 
make  the  exhibition  as  new  and 


128 

possible,  I  made  all  the  preparation  necessary 
fur  the  accomplishment  of  my  yjfcrpose,  little 
expecting  that  I  was  preparing  iPcast  myself 
from  the  pinacle  of  honor  and  applause  to  the. 
disgrace  and  miseries  of  a  loathsome  dungeon, 
as  will  be  seen  in  the  succeeding  history. 

The  appointed  h  ur  being  come,  I  entered 
my  apartment,  and  having  this  honorable  com- 
pany all  before  me,  proceeded  to  the  perfor- 
mance of  the  achievements  for  which  I  had 
prepared ;  the  hearts  of  my  attendants  were 
now  all  highly  primed  with  the  expectation  of 
seeing  some  wonderful  performance  !  and  every 
feature  and  every  countenance  indicated  the 
anticipation  of  high  satisfaction  ;  and  now  my 
chief  concern  was  that  they  should  not  be  dis- 
appointed ;  and  probably  their  expectations 
were  drawn  up  to  the  high  pitch  by  the  ap^ 
pearance  of  the  rooms,  for  they  were  furnish- 
ed and  equipped  with  several  utensils  and  ap- 
paratus for  the  performance.  As  I  was  deter- 
mined to  quit  this  part  of  the  world  and  retire 
to  my  own  native  country,  after  this  perfor- 
mance was  over,  I  felt  myself  somewhat 
ambitious  to  record  a  pleasing  fame  in  this 
famous  city  ;  and  accordingly  led  on  the  per- 
formance to  the  extent  of  my  abilities. 

And  first,  I  prepared  three  rooms  in  an  inn 
for  the  exhibition,  and  lined  the  walls  with 
black  tapestry  throughout ;  over  the  tapestry 
I  hung  skeletons  of  the  dead  ;  in  the  first 
room  sat  a  candle,  just  sufficient  (bv  its  glim- 
mering light)  to  bring  to  remembrance  th£ 


129 

solemn  mansions  of  the  dead  !  The  second 
room  was  paired  with  ad6-t;ci:ui  gloomM^ss, 
and  was  stilWfiore  frightful !  Tne  third,  and 
last,  was  increased  in  every  solemn  and  fright- 
ful form,  and  seemed  to  the  spectator  as  T hough 
he  had  entered  the  gloomy  house  of  .lemons 
and  departed  ghosts,  who  \vrT;  implacable 
malice  stood  fixed  and  ready  to  seize  upon 
their  prey  !  In  this  room,  I  had  fixed  all 
these  utensils  and  accoutrements  necessary 
for  the  various  feats  of  the  awful  scene,  a  few 
trifling  things  excepted.  On  entering  into 
this  room,  the  spectator,  on  stepping  on  the 
floor,  was  unexpectedly  shocked  wiLha  strong 
touch  of  electricity  ;  stepping-  forth  on  an  in- 
sulated platform,  amongst  his  fellow  spectators, 
he  saw  their  countenances  pale  and  frightful 
as  death  !  The  room  was  in  perfect  darkness  ; 
but  the  rays  of  light,  which  were  emitted  from 
two  burning  candies,  just  lighted  and  placed 
so  as  to  discover  frightfulness  and  horror ; 
these  were  prepared  for  the  solemn  occasion, 
and  placed  by  the  side  of  the  wall.  The  spec- 
tators were  informed  that  I  was  about  to  raise 
a  departed  spirit,  and  that  I  should  probably 
converse  with  him,  and  ask  him  several  ques- 
tions, which  he  doubtless  would  readily  an- 
swer ;  but  I  bid  them  not  fear  or  be  terrified  ; 
that  I  would  assure  them,  that  the  spirit  which 
I  would  raise  should  not  hurt  them,  but  only 
answer  the  questions  which  I  should  ask  him  ; 
and  at  my  command,  should  disappear.  I 
then  proceeded  with  my  achievments  to  bring 


130 

him  forth,  at  which  we  heard  the  rolling  of 
heavy  thunder  over  our  heads,  a  heavy  show- 
er of  rain  immediately  followea?  and  both  of 
our  candles  went  out  apparently  of  themselves, 
and  left  us  in  impenetrable  darkness  !  I  should 
have  mentioned  that  prior  to  this  I  addressed- 
the  gentlemen  in  company,  saying,  gentlemen, 
is  there  one  of  you  who  is  willing  that  I 
should  raise  his  father,  or  friend,  at  the  pre- 
sent time.  I  was  answered  by  one  of  them, 
that  if  it  should  please  me,  I  would  do  well 
to  raise  his  father  ;  and  this  was  the  noble  sire, 
who  was  to  come  forth.  But  the  candles 
having  refused  to  give  us  light,  the  thunder 
continued  to  roll,  the  rain  to  descend,  and  the 
wind  to  blow  extremely  ;  crankling  lightning 
flew  around  the  room  in  every  direction ! 
With  a  solemn  and  commanding  tone  of  voice, 
I  bid  the  spirit  or  ghost  of  the  deceased  to 
CGine  forth !  when  I  had  called  the  third  and 
last  time,  he  made  his  appearance  in  the  room, 
and  demanded  of  me  an  answer  to  the  im- 
portant questions,  Why  I  had  called  him  up 
from  the  dead?  Why  I  had  disturbed  his 
rest  and  repose  ?  I  answered  him,  und  in 
an  authoritative  voice,  demanded  of  him  to  tell 
from  whence  he  came ;  whether  from  the 
dismal  and  doleful  deep  !  the  infernal  pit !  or 
from  the  happy  regions  of  endless  felicity 
above  !  He  iinmfediately  told  us  that  he  came 
down  from  above,  from  the  glorious  world  of 
light,  the  place  of  consummate  happiness  and 
felicity  I  I  questioned  him  in  several  parti1* 


131 

culars,  in  all  which  he  answered  me  in  a 
proper  and^jteiligible  order,  although  his 
voice  was  Hollow  and  mournful !  When  I 
had  done  conversing  with  him,  I  told  him 
that  I  should  soon  give  him  liberty  to  de- 
part, but  that  as  he  had  extinguished  our 
lights  at  his  approach,  he  would  be  requested 
to  light  them  up  again  at  his  departure.  The 
gentleman  who  had  told  me  that  I  should  do 
well  to  raise  his  father,  had  now  both  seen 
and  acknowledged  that  it  was  the  ghost  of  his 
father  in  very  deed  !  that  it  was  both  his  coun- 
tenance and  form,  although  his  voice  was 
somewhat  hollow,  and  consequently  more  like 
that  of  a  ghost  than  that  of  a  living  person. 
His  appearance  was  of  a  lucific  cast,  and  af- 
forded light  enough  to  view  him  in  every 
feature.  Having  finished  conversation  in  every 
important  question,  I  now  gave  him  liberty 
to  disappear ;  he  immediately  received  the 
precept  and  departed,  but  as  he  left  the  room, 
he  forgot  not  to  obey  the  injunction  laid  on 
him  at  his  departure,  and  our  candles  lighted 
up  again  of  themselves :  at  first  the  tops  of 
the  snuffs  appeared  red  with  fire,  as  it  will 
if  a  candle  be  blown  out,  but  it  immediately 
rose  up  into  a  steady  "blaze.  After  this,  the 
candles  suspended  their  lights  again,  going 
out  of  themselves ;  and  the  atmosphere 
throughout  the  room  was  all  on  fire  ;  i.  e. 
the  whole  room  appeared  a  solid  flame  of  fire  ; 
yet*  none  were  injured  !  To  see  what  they 
understood  was  a  real  ghost,  without  the  sign 


132 

of  fiction— to  hear  awful  thunder,  great  rain, 
and  wind — to  view  the  cranking  lightning 
running  round  the  room — hear  me  converse 
with  a  departed  spirit — and  then  see  the  can- 
dles going  out  and  lighting  up  of  themst-ives-r- 
the  whole  room  filled  with  flames  of  fire  ! — 
was  to  them  truly  astonishing:  they  could 
not  but  believe  I  must  be  assisted  by  su- 
pernatural agency.  Ignorant  of  philosophy 
and  the  powers  of  nature,  they  judged  these 
appearances  to  be  real  and  substantial  facts  ; 
yet  when  seen  through  and  understood,  they 
appear  no  longer  mysterious  ;  and  though 
they  appear  wonderful  and  strange  to  those 
who  are  not  conversant  in  them,  yet  they  are 
wholly  the  productions  of  art,  as  will  be  seen 
in  an  explanation  at  the  latter  part  of  this 
narrative. 

When  this  latter  part  of  the  play  was  per- 
formed, I  thought  that  I  heard  a  murmuring 
amongst  the  spectators,  and  immediately  with- 
drew the  exhibitions  ;  I  then  made  up  towards 
the  Governor  to  speak  to  him,  but  instead  of 
using  me  with  free  and  sociable  complaisance, 
as  was  his  general  manner,  he  turned  himself 
round,  cast  a  disdainful  look  back  at  me,  and 
sheared  off  with  disgust  and  silent  contempt. 
I  spoke  to  him,  but  received  no  answer.  The 
whole  company  seemed  to  conduct  themselves 
toward  me,  as  though  they  knew  me  to  be  in 
league  with  devils,  and  to  have  produced  my 
achievements  from  the  infernal  regions  of  the 
deep,  and  I  now  saw  that  my  fortune  was  lost  in 


133 

the  beautiful  clime  of  Mexico.  I  expected 
this  was  the  opinion  which  they  had  for nud 
of  me,  on  amount  of  the  artificial  light  that 
was  infused  through  the  room  at  the  close  of 
the  feats  ;  my  having  endeavoured  to  please 
the  curiosity  of  these  people,  entirely  out  of 
friendship,  was  now  like  to  bring  me  into  trou- 
ble, and  being  in  doubt  about  the  consequen- 
ces which  might  flow  from  the  superstition  of 
these  people,  I  went  to  my  lodgings  with  a 
heavy  heart :  besides,  I  knew  that  the  Roman 
Catholics  are  in  general  very  cruel  where  they 
undertake  to  afflict ;  however  I  had  but  little 
quiet  the  first  part  of  the  night,  after  which 
1  fell  a  sleep  and  did  not  awake  until  4  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  when  to  my  astonishment  my 
room,  was  visited  with  a  guard  of  soldiers  who 
without  waiting  for  ceremonies,  burst  open  my 
chamber  door,  and  seized  me  as  they  would 
a  person  whom  they  thought  was  some  kind 
of  a  supernatural  creature  ;  they  were  so  furi- 
ous and  ignorant  that  they  scarcely  gave  me 
time  to  dress  myself,  before  they  had  put  me  in 
irons  or  rather  chains  !  From  thence  they  forc- 
ed me  to  a  tower  or  an  old  shattered  building, 
apparently  falling  to  wreck  in  the  city,  and 
opend  one  of  the  doors  :  here  the  captain  of 
the  guard,  in  language  very  humane  and  pa- 
thetic, thus  addressed  me, — Young  man,  you 
are  now  about  to  be  consigned  to  a  dungeon  ! 
to  a  dungeor.,  from  \vhence  you  will  never 
return  !  The  sun  just  ihen  rising,  and  beam- 
ing above  the  horizontal  plain,  und  o'er  the 

M 


134 

distant  hills,  lie  pointed  his  finger  to  the  bright 
luminary,  and  said,  You  may  now,  for  once, 
and  the  last  time,  take  a  view  of  yonder  sun, 
and  pointing  with  his  finger,  said,  behold  him 
now,  1  say  for  the  last  time,  for  you  will  never 
see  him  again,  spreading  his  golden  rays 
abroad,  to  lighten  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  ! 
What  was  my  surprise  at  this  new  and  unex- 
pected destruction  !  It  had  never  been  told 
me  that  I  was  guilty  of  any  offence  against 
the  laws  of  the  country,  or  that  1  had  offended 
God,  or  the  ministers  of  the  established  reli- 
gion ;  they  never  pretended  that  they  were 
going  to  imprison  me  for  any  particular  fault, 
and  as  I  was  conscious  of  none,  I  expostulated 
with  the  captain  upon  the  unreasonableness  of 
the  conduct.  1  requested  him,  that  if  in  any 
thing  I  was  guilty  of  doing  wrong,  for  the 
sake  of  the  humanity  which  he,  and  which 
all  ought  to  possess,  that  he  would  but  once 
present  me  before  the  Governor,  that  I  might 
have  a  trial,  and  have  the  opportunity  of  mak- 
ing if  but  one  plea  for  my  life!  and  that,  if 
in  the  feats  which  were  performed  the  night 
before  there  was  an?  thing  criminal,  I  would 
answer  in  a  clear  and  satisfactory  manner  to 
the  charge,  or  endeavour  to  reconcile  my  self 
to  this  awful  condemnation  !  But  he  said  that 
his  orders  \vere,  to  commit  me  to  that  dun- 
geon without  consenting-  TO  hear  any  thing 
which  I  h'-id  to  say  in  my  ov.  a  -bthulf*  All 
this  he  spoke  in  tlxe.f  reach  language,  m  order 
that  I  should  understand,  ra.d  ilui  I  J.uuid 


135 

fully  know  the  worst  of  it.  I  entreated  him 
to  give  me  fifteen  minutes  time  to  write  a  let- 
ter to  my  relations,  but  all  in  vain. 

To  be  sent  clown  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  (for  that  was  called  the  depth  of  the  pit), 
into  the  heart  of  the  earth,  and  without  being 
allowed  to  speak  so  much  as  one  word  in  my 
own  defence,  was  more  than  any  person  could 
ever  have  made  me  believe  before  :  that  the 
brave,  kind  and  generous  Governor  ;  that 
those  who  claim  characters  worthy  of  noble- 
men and  gentlemen  of  Mexico  ;  that  the  re- 
ligion of  all  the  priests  of  the  famous  and 
noble  city  !  I  say  that  all  these  generous  and 
hospitable  people  should  condemn  any  person 
to  an  eternal  banishment  and  exile  from  the 
inhabitants  of  the  world,  and  according  to 
their  religion,  to  hell  itself  at  death  !  which 
they  eventually  intended  ;  I  say,  to  believe  ail 
this,  was  more  than  I  or  any  other  person 
could  be  capable  of  believing,  who  was  unac- 
quainted with  their  dispositions  :  and  although 
the  Spaniards  are  said  to  be  honorable  in  some 
particular  things,  yet  in  cruelty  and  deceit  .they 
are  excelled  by  none ;  their  religion  is  of 
such  a  nature,  generally,  as  to  influence  them 
in  direct  opposition  to  all  the  doctrines  of 
the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God.  For  my  part, 
1  never  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  one  of 
them  who  conducted  like  a  real  and  sincere 
worshipper  of  God,  whilst  I  tarried  amongst 
them.  But  again  ;  to  think  of  descending  so 
suddenly  from  the  height  of  honor,  friendship 


156 

arid  pleasures,  to  such  unjust  and  disgraceful 
puni'ihm- -i;L  ,<h  >-d  me  with  amazement 

and  ataost  disti  !    But,   they  knew  no 

mercy;  an;I  instead  of  hearing  my  expostu- 
lations and  arguments  in  favor  "of  the  feelings 
of  humanity  and  mercy,  they  seemed  to  value 
my  life  as  of  trifling  consideration ;  and  so  I 
believe  they  valued  the  lives  of  the  chief  part 
of  the  inhabitants  :  they  hurried  me  to  the 
place  by  which  they  would  send  me  down  to 
this  dismal  and  frightful  abyss  of  woes  !  See- 
ing noilni'i?  kft,  •  but  that  1  must  resign  my - 
seif  to  this  inconceivable  wretchedness,  I  en- 
deavored to  look  to  the  God  of  heaven  for  his 
merciful  interposition  in  my  behalf;  my  soul, 
strung  up  to  the  highest  degree  of  surprise, 
was  now  the  seat  of  ten  thousand  anxieties 
and  distresses  !  far  from  friends  and  relatives, 
ail  hope  had  taken  an  everlasting  flight !  It 
Tvii.s  now  t-nt  I  found  the  necessity  of  pray. 
er  ;  • ' '  snuil  part  of  n;y  hie  it 

was  that  I  cried  for  iuvor  once  more  to  the 
Most  High.  I  wrung  my  hiu";d?»  in  bitter  re- 
flections !  a  flood  of  tears  flowed  spontaneous 
from  my  heaving  bosom  !  an  existence,  far 
worse  than  death  seven  times  repeated,  was 
then  my  unhappy  lot !  Well  might  the  an- 
cient prophet  say,  "  let  me  fall  into  the  hands 
of  God,  but  let  me  not  fail  into  the  hands  of 
man  !"  After  they  had  heard  me  make  my 
mournful  petition,  and  spent  myself  in  my 
co 'u plaints,  they  forced  me  to  enter  the  Dun- 
geon, but  were  obliged  to  do  it  by  violent 


ibrce  of  the  guard.  This  dungeon  was  un- 
doubtedly made  for  the  reception  of  those 
unhappy  wretches  who  have  the  misfortune 
to  deny  their  modes  and  forms  of  religion, 
for  such  persons  as  these,  they  have  a  tradi- 
tion, that  they  can  never  punish  too  much  ; 
and  I  have  sometimes  thought  that  my  having 
apparently  (as  they  concluded)  turned  water 
into  wine,  which  added  to  the  other  feats 
mentioned*  caused  a  jealousy  still  greater  to 
spring  up  in  their  hearts,  that  I  was  endeavor- 
ing to  counterfeit  the  miracles  of  Christ,  and 
that  I  was  deistically  despising  the  great  author 
of  all  our  religion.  Howbeit,  I  shall  give  a 
brirf  and  concise  description  of  this  dismal  pit, 
and  of  my  imprisonment  and  sufferings  during 
the  six  months  of  my  stay  there. 

This  prison  is  constructed  in  a  manner  en- 
tirely unknown  in  many  other  parts  of  the 
earth  where  I  have  had  the  fortune  to  travel ;. 
it  is  dug  down,  I  suppose,  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  under  ground,  and  to  such  an 
extreme  depth,  probably,  to  prevent  the  cries 
and  groans  of  the  wretched  prisoner  from 
being  heard  and  troubling  the  people  in  the 
city  ;  the  diameter,  I  think,  was  about  fifteen 
feet,  and  holds  its  bigness  nearly  to  the  bot- 
tom ;  the  way  they  enter  it  is  by  winding 
stairs,  which  are  built  on  the  sides,  all  of  hewn 
stone ;  a  rope  reached  from  the  top  down  to 
the  bottom  of  this  dungeon,,  by  which,  the 
prisoner  lets  himself  down  the  stom  way  with 
safety  and  Jess  difficult v  ;  these  stairs  on  thg 
K  2 


138 

sides  are  bnilt  out  about  three  feet  from  the 
\\-  i  When  we  had  reached  the  bo'tom, 
(.'.-  the  captain  descended  with  me  with  a  light 
in  Ins  hand),  I  found  that  it  was  paved  with 
stone  ;  there  was  also  a  small  stone  stool  to  set 
on  to  rest  myself  and  to  eat  my  food ;  there 
was  some  straw  on  the  paved  floor  for  my  bed, 
which  it  was  conceived  I  should  want  but  a 
few  weeks.  The  feelings  of  this  gentleman 
were  very  sensibly  touched  on  this  solemn 
occasion  ;  he  told  me  that  I  must  there  stay, 
during  my  existence  on  earth,  and  that  we 
should  see  each  other  no  more  until  we  met 
again  in  an  eternal  world,  in  the  great  day  of 
judgment,  and  he  hoped  in  heaven  !  He  ad- 
vised me  to  make  my  peace  with  God,  the 
judge  of  all,  and  prepare  myself  for  death  I 
(concluding  doubtless,  and  from  good  reasons 
too,  that  my  dissolution  was  now  nigh  at 
hand  !)  that  I  should  be  fed  with  bread  and 
water  only,  during  my  miserable  existence 
there  :  he  left  me  with  tears  and  a  melancholy- 
heart  !  There  was  a  door,  I  suppose  about 
twenty  feet  above  my  head,  which  he  passed 
up  through,  and  I  heard  him  sigh  as  he  shut 
down  the  door  over  my  head ;  but  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  his  feelings  were  tender, 
being  moved  by  the  lamentable  sound  of  my 
own  voice,  i.  e.  my  distracted  and  distressing 
cries,  in  the  moment  of  his  shutting  clown  the 
door.  He  ascended  and  left  me  in  the  dismal 
place  which  he  himself  esteemed  far  worse 
ana  more  deplorable  than  death  !  This  captain* 


139 

Oi*  rather  gentleman,  was  a  Frenchman  in  ap- 
pearance,  though  a  Spanish  officer ;  but  he 
knew  that  my  state  was  inconceivably  wretch- 
ed :  he  had  knowledge,  in  former  days,  of  the 
French  customs,  and  the  habits  of  their  coun- 
try ;  but  as  he  was  obliged  to  leave  me  by 
the  authority  of  the  state,  his  concern  for  me 
was  entirely  without  profit  or  avail :  the  feel- 
ings of  my  heart  at  this  crisis  is  not  to  be  told. 
Such  is  the  uncertainty  of  human  life,  such 
the  uncertainty  and  mutability  of  all  human 
things,  that  all  may  ask  the  high,  the  most 
important  question,  Where  is  happiness? 
where  is  now,  (said  my  sou5),  where  is  now 
my  dependence  on  the  friendship  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  where  my  dependence  on  the  no- 
blemen of  Mexico  ?  where  is  my  dependence 
On  the  friendship  of  the  great  ?  Once  it  was, 
whilst  flourishing  in  this  city,  that  I  could 
repeat  these  lines  : 

My  fame  increased  my  friends  arose, 

High  as  the  arched  skies  ; 
I  feast  on  every  flower  that  grows j 

And   glory  never  dies. 

J  envied  not  the  king  his  throne, 

Nor  fear'd  his  dreadful  power  : 
I  took  the  prime  of  every  rose, 

And  feasted,  every  hour. 

I  now  considered  myself  as  forever  banished 
from  the  society  of  mortals  ;  and  well  I  aiight, 
for  not  one  in  a  hundred  that  have  been  put 
in  these  dungeons  and  pits  of  woe,  have  eve* 


140 

Sf  f n  the  light  of  the  sun  afterwards.  Here  I 
was  obliged  to  cast  my  deep  thoughts,  first 
on  time  past ;  and  secondly,  on  eternity  to 
come  ;  then  on  the  nature  of  a  right  prepara- 
tion to  meet  them  all :  I  now  considered  that 
my  glass  of  action  was  run,  my  die  was  cast, 
and  my  time  on  the  earth  was  at  a  period  J 
And  first,  for  time  past ;  I  considered  that 
I  had  seen  many  fair  opportunities  of  making 
an  honorable  and  agree? b!e  living  in  the  world, 
which  I  had  refused,  and  that  heaven  had 
rewarded  most  justly  my  disobedience  to  my 
parents,  in  coming  away  from  them  in  my 
younger  years  ;  that  the  God  of  providence 
had  also  rewarded  my  ingratitude  to  him  for 
his  favors  granted  me  in  Paris,  when  he  pro- 
videntially gave  me  2,500  dollars  by  a  lottery,, 
and  I  had  the  presumption  and  impenitence 
to  give  way  to  intoxicating  and  unlawful  plea- 
sures, far  distant  from  that  humility  of  mind 
which  ought  to  have  been  produced  by  such 
singular  favors,  well  adapted  to  give  me  an 
opportunity  to  consider  of  my  latter  end,  if 
rny  heart  had  been  rightly  disposed.  And 
after  this  my  peculiar  deliverance  from  pun- 
ishment, to  which  add,  the  peculiar  hand  of 
providence  in  Hanover,  where  I  escaped,  from 
the  impending  and  destructive  sentence  of 
condemnation  which  awaited  me  there ;  in 
short,  my  whole  life  now  appeared  a  scene  of 
wonderful  mercies  !  my  whole  life  appeared 
like  a  dream  when  one  awakes,  and  myself 


141 

confounded  with  a  sense  of  my  rebellion 
•against  the  God  of  heaven. 

A  dream  just  now  came  into  my  mind 
which  I  had  dreamed  on  my  passage  whilst 
sailing  toward  America.  I  thought  that  I  saw 
in  my  dream,  that  three  heavens  were  succes- 
sively opened  just  over  my  head  ;  the  first 
heaven  contained  nothing  that  was  very  re- 
markable ;  the  second  was  the  residence  of 
beings,  and  of  actions  far  more  expressive  of 
elegance  and  grandeur  supernatural ;  the  third 
was  apparently  blessed  with  inconceivable 
light  and  glory,  and  in  its  effulgent  beams 
was  placed  a  glorious  throne  of  inaccessible 
light !  and  one  sat  thereon  high  and  lifted  up, 
in  his  hand  was  a  bright  and  furbished  two 
edged  sword  :  I  thought  that  he  descended 
and  come  even  to  the  humble  spot  just  over 
fny  head  where  I  stood  on  the  earth,  and  spake 
to  me  in  a  friendly  and  loving  voice,  and  said, 
(giving  n  ..-  ihis  sword  and 

make  good  Cfse  of  u,  walking  in  the  ways  of 
virtue,  and  the  religion  in  which  you  are  en- 
gaged and  you  shall  arrive  to  great  honor  in 
the  new  found  land,  L  c.  America,  as  I  then 
understood  it.  In  this  same  dream  I  thought 
that  I  afterwards  saw  my  parents,  who  both 
embraced  me ;  that  I  was  dressed  in  very 
handsome  uniform,  with  my  sword  by  my 
side.  Bat  not  having  fulfilled  the  conditions, 
thr  promise  is  of  none  effect,  but  void.  Here 
I  utn  under  the  necessity  of  relating,  that  I 
had  been  ah  through  tfeis  voyage  of  a  very 


142 

religious  turn  of  mind  ;  and  although  we  had 
several  passengers  who  were  all  very  merry 
and  of  facetious  dispositions,  yet  this  could  not 
prevail  on  me  to  neglect  the  reading  of  my 
bible  ;  but  I  had  strong  reasons,  being  just 
then  escaped  from  a  shameful  and  ignomini- 
ous death  in  Hanover.  I  was  more  sensible 
of  this  important  and  great  truth,  this  wo:- Id 
is  not  our  rest !  and  the  promise  of  my  being 
exalted  to  greatness  was  annexed  to  my  con- 
tinning  in  obedience  to  the  commands  of  God, 
all  which  I  had  to6  fatally  forsaken  !  This 
reflection  now  came  home  to  my  heart  with 
ten  fold  weight  ;  and  I  said,  the  harvest  is 
past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and  1  am  not 
saved  !  If  I  could  have  repented,  1  needed 
rot  their  Romish  priests  and  friars  to  pardon 
my  sins  ;  for,  having  been  trained  up  under 
the  inspection  ai  d  superintendance  of  the 
church  of  England,  1  knew  better  than  to  be 
taught  by  the  blind  supeistitioii  of  the  papist. 
I,  indeed,  endeavored  to  pray,  and  to  call  on 
that  God  who  afflicts  that  he  may  reclaim, 
and  often  pui^shes  that  he  may  bring  to  re- 
pentance ;  but  how  my  prayers  were  perform- 
ed I  cannot  well  remember,  only  that  they 
were  the  petitions  of  a  helpless  and  despairing 
sinner,  ready  to  perish  ! 

My  thoughts  were  forced  forward  toward 
a  never  ending  existence  in  an  untried  and 
unknown  state  ;  and  that  state  soon  to  com- 
mence. I  must  now,  for  the  short  pleasures 
and  gratifications  of  a  few  months  on  earth, 


143 

be  hurried  into  a  miserable  hereafter,  and 
without  an  evangelical  and  saving  faith  in  the 
Son  of  God,  (which  I  do  not  know  that  I  can 
ever  obtain),  to  the  place  where  the  worm 
dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched  !  Here 
I  have  no  friend  to  console  the  flowing  tear,  or 
encourage  the  fainting  heart ;  cast  out,  not  from 
a  house  of  poverty  and  wretchedness,  from  the 
perplexities  of  pursuing  creditors  and  consta- 
bles, from  the  distresses  of  poverty  and  con- 
tempt, from  a  state  of  war  and  trouble,  nor 
from  months  of  confinement  in  a  common  pri- 
son in  the  city  ;  but  from  the  sh?fdy  bower  of 
prosperity  and  peace ;  from  the  laurels  of  honor 
and  the  friendships  of  the  great,  and  the 
mighty ;  from  the  happy  prospect  (above  all) 
of  soon  regaling  myself  in  all  the  joys  of  hap- 
py and  virtuous  life  in  my  own  country.  O, 
my  God  !  have  I  been  so  unmindful  of  thy  fa- 
vors !  have  I  so  deserved  thy  judgments! 
What  will  my  dear  friends,  and  people  who 
are  my  relations  say,  what  will  they  feel,  when 
they  shall  hear  of  my  miserable  and  unhappy 
exit  ?  Having  finally  exhausted  my  strength  in 
bitter  reflections  and  inexpressible  grief  whilst 
I  sat  upon  the  stool,  I  was  obliged  to  seek  rest, 
.and  feeling  round  me,  I  collected  the  straw  to- 
gether and  laid  me  down,  and  endeavoured  to 
compose  myself  as  well  as  my  circumstances 
would  permit 

1  had  nothing  now  to  do  but  prepare  •rnv- 
self  for  cl;  ijLh  iitid  a  judgment/to  COOK  !  I  saw 
more  clearly  than  at  any  former  period 


144 

every  man  in  his  best  estate  in  this  life,  (li- 
terally ^peaking),  is  altogether  vanity  !  happi- 
ness but  a  name  !  that  there  was  no  depen- 
dence on  any  thing  under  the  sun  !  I  consi- 
dered on  all  my  labors,  and  the  various  em- 
ployments in  which  I  had  been,  engaged  whilst 
in  the. world,  and  wherein  I  had  promised  my- 
self happiness  arid  honor,  and  saw  them  all,  in 
the  glass  of  experience,  to  be  but  vanity  of 
vanities  and  vexation  of  spirit. 

Having  been  confined  in  this  dreary  and  de- 
solate mansion,  as  I  supposed,  three  or  four 
days,  I  began  to  conclude  that  my  fortune, 
temporal  and  spiritual  things  both  cast  into 
the  scale  together,  was  not  so  unfavorable  as 
what  I  had  concluded  ;  that  my  imprisonment 
might  be  the  effect  of  kindness  from  the  au- 
thor of  my  being  intended  only  for  my  good 
and  final  salvation  in  the  end  ;  the  thought 
very  solemnly  past  through  my  heart,  |that 
I  had  tasted  my  share  both  of  joys  and  sorrows 
amongst  the  inhabitants  of  the  world ;  that  I 
had  seen  different  kingdoms,  cities  and  villa- 
ges; that.  I  had  been  in  different  employments, 
that  I  frad  run  my  race,  spent  my  days  in  great 
activity,  and  had  soon  finished  my  course; 
my  glass  was  run  !  1  had  no  hopes  now  of  ever 
beholding  the  sun  with  the  inhabitants  of  the 
world !  and  seeing  that  my  destiny  was  fixed, 
and  my  die  was  cast,  I  had  now  the  full 
sum  of  my  business  ali  before  me  ;  which  was, 
to  accept  of  this  awful  dispensation  of  provi- 
dence, and  prepare  myself  for  rny  final  disso- 


145 

lution  !  to  be  reconciled  to  a  confinement  like 
this  was  not  easy  to  flesh  and  blood,  j  et  I  con- 
sidered that  if  I  could  look  on  this  imprison- 
ment in  the  aforementioned  view,  it  would 
make  my  situation  more  tolerable.  I  believe 
that  at  this  critical  period  the  God  of  all  grace 
assisted  me  in  the  conclusion  v/hich  I  drew  up 
in  this  solemn  Lonr,  for  had  I  been  wholly 
left  to  struggle  with  the  temptations  of  the 
spirits  of  wickedness,  it  M  more  than  proba- 
ble that  I  should  oave  put  rri  en  J  to  my  life  in 
a  short  time.  But  I  was  ready  *o  L^^.v,,  that 
if  I  had  lived  longer  in  a  tempting  world  like 
this,  that  it  was  quiie  probable  that  I  should 
have  continued  in  &in,  until  sudden  death  pcr- 
Ifaps  without  an  oppoitunity  of  repentance, 
might  cast  me  into  irrecoverable  ruin  !  and  I 
very  well  knew,  ihat  many  of  my  former  ac- 
quaintance had  been  hurried  out  of  time,  un- 
prepared and  without  warning ;  and  if  that 
mighty  and  awful  providence  which  governs 
the  lives  and  actions  of  mtn,  has  thus  favored 
me,  above  thousands  and  millions  of  my  fel- 
low creatures,  what  reason  havg  I  to  complain  : 
to  this  I  answered  none  ;  I  then  conch  c<cd 
that  I  was  yet  happier  and  more  •  favored 
many  of  the  nobility  who  were  walking  ;he 
pleasant  streets  or  Mexico.  .  This  disposition 
of  reconciliation  to  my  unfortunate  lot,  had  this 
wonderful  effect,  i.e  to  make  me  thus  so  well 
composed,  in  a  place  where,  but  a  few  days 
before,  I  viewed  my  situation  vviih  the  utmost 
horror  !  as  I  hud  now  nothing  to  uttr.ici  mv 


146 

attention  to  the  earth,  it  was  easy  for  me  to 
make  a  resignation  of  myself  to  the  feet  of  the 
divine  mercy,  and  willingly  subscribe  myself 
voluntarily  to  the  conditions  of  salvation  pre- 
scribed in  the  everlasting  gospel ;  and  this  I 
thought  I  did  most  fully  and  without  re- 
serve, for  I  was  entirely  dead  to  ^11  hopes 
and  enjoyment  of  things  on  earth.  Having 
been  in  this  desolate  prison  I  suppose  near 
two  weeks,  I  felt  myself  strangely  resigned  to 
my  sequestrated  and  melancholy  state ;  my 
food  was  let  down  to  me  by  way  of  the  air 
holes  which  went  up,  I  believe,  on  a  slant, 
through  the  sides  of  the  dungeon,  by  some 
contrivance  with  ropes,  once  a  day,  and  my 
drink  likewise  ;  it  never  consisted  of  any  thing 
better  than  bread  and  water,  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  have  bread  that  was  of  the  best  qua- 
lity ;  the  darkness  of  the  dungeon,  although 
at  first  it  was  so  thick  that  I  could  see  nothing 
for  two  or  three  weeks,  yet  at  that  time  my 
eyes  having  been  as  it  were  used  and  natural- 
ized to  the  place,  I  could  now  discern  some 
rars  of  light,  which  I  concluded  penetrated 
thvough  the  crevices  which  where  left  me  to 
air  the  dungeon  ;  and  in  two  or  three  months 
I  could  observe  things  around  me  nearly  as 
cloudy  as  I  now  can  by  moonlight ;  this  differ- 
ence I  conceive  >*as  not  made  by  the  letting 
in  of  more  light,  but  through  the  means  of  ha- 
bit 'ind  use.  for  when  I  was  afterwards  brought 
out  to  trie  light  of  open  day,  I  could  by  no 
ni^ins  bear  it.  The  heavy  and  damp  air  of 


147 

the  prison  after  about  four  or  five  months, 
much  impaired  my  health  ;  and  doubtless  the 
wnit  of  free  r.irculation  aided  and  helped  for- 
ward  the  decay,  for  the  dungeon  being  small 
there  was  not  much  room  for  walking  or  ex- 
ercise, and  I  grew  so  weak  that  J  could 
stand  or  set  up  but  very  little  and  very  seldom 
too,  but  was  necessitated  to  lay  myself  down 
on  my  straw.  1  now  concluded  that  my  dis- 
solution was  nigh,  and  the  time  of  my  de- 
parture at  hand  !  I  felt  my  moments  of  time 
draw  slowly  on,  and,  full  willing  to  die,  I 
felt  myself  decay  with  a  composed  mind,  my 
weakness  was  so  great  that  it  was  a  labor 
with  me  to  arise  and  take  my  food  when  it 
was  sent  down  into  the  dungeon,  and  had  I 
continued  much  longer  there,  in  all  proba- 
bility I  should  have  been  past  recovery  by 
the  art  of  man. 

When  I  had  been  here,  I  think  about  six 
months,  I  dreamed  a  singular  dream,  i,  e.  that 
I  saw  the  sun,  the  glorious  luminary  of  the 
world  arising  and  spreading  his  golden  beams 
over  the  western  hills  ;  that  I  alone  was  drawn 
up  before  the  judge  of  the  world,  and  passed 
through  my  trial,  and  was  declared  innocent, 
justified,  acquitted  and  set  at  liberty  !  I  awoke, 
and  found  myself  in  the  body.  Whilst  I  laid 
ruminating  a  few  hours  on  what  the  meaning 
of  this  singular  dream  might  be,  there  was  a 
sound  of  a  rumbling  over  my  head  ;  I  listened, 
and  directly  it  seemed  to  increase  ;  the  ofiicor 
was  drawing  nearer  and  directly  lifted  up  the 


148      !• 

List  trap  or  great  door  opening  into  my  solita- 
ry apartment !  At  this  I  cast  up  my  languid 
eyes  and  beheld  a  light ;  having  been  so  long 
accustoffoed  to  darkness,  the  effusion  of  the 
t  so  buJclenly  bursting  upon  my  eyes, 
;  powered  the  sight,  ar»d  T  was  obliged  to 
cover  them  with  my  diriy  habiliments,  that 
like  myself  bad  gotton  well  inured  to  the  dun- 
geon !  Presently  he  came  to  my  lonely  bed, 
and  found  me  lying  pensive  on  the  homely 
conch  ;  he  tapped  me  gently  on  my  shoulder, 
and  said,  Young  man,  would  it  not  be  more 
iSiirattle  to  you  to  quit  this  horrible  place 
i;nd  become  an  inhabitant  of  the  world  of  light, 
than  to  tarry  here  and  pine  away  in  such  a 
loathsome  dungeon  ?  The  question  turned 
my  mind,  indeed,  from  my  meditations,  but 
it  was  only  for  a  moment  ;  and  as  I  had  full 
L::h  hi  the  dicatn  at  that  Mirje,  that  my  final 
dijsoluti-on  was  near,  and  i  should  be  soon 
transported  to  realms  of  everlasting  happiness 
and  eternal  felicity,  I  really  chose  to  decline 
the  offer  of  corning  again  into  a  world  of  sin 
and  temptations,  and  esteemed  it  like  ex- 
changing heaven  for  earth,  the  realms  of  bliss 
for  a  world  of  anxiety,  deceit  and  cruelty. 
I  answered  him.  No  ;  that  I  chose  to  remain 
in  my  present  situation  ;  that  I  believed  I  had 
not  long- to  tarry  there,  but  hoped  that  soon 
I  should  be  in  a  better  world,  and  desired 
that  he  would  let  me  alon<  as  of  ch.n  e  I 
h:id  rather  be  where  I  was.  that  1  sh<  d 
soon  be  happy  :  to  ilns  he  immediately  au- 


149 

sxvered  me,  that  T  must  not  be  discouraged; 
that  my  fortune  might  turn;  that  it  was  prob- 
able, that  the  storm  was  past ;  he  said  that  the 
thick  clouds  and  rains  of  affliction  were  scat- 
tering, and  I  was  likely  yet  to  prosper  and  do 
well  ;  that  it  was  my  duty  to  preserve  my 
life  ;  that  if  I  wished  not  to  live  for  my  own 
sake,  yet  I  ought  to  think  of  doing  some  good 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  :  he  said,  you 
may  yet  prosper  anct  be  happy  ;  and  taking 
gently  hold  of  my  clothes  he  bade  me  follow 
him.  He  spoke  quite  affectionately  and  with 
a  voice  of  humanity,  I  suppose  at  seeing  my 
misery.  As  he  spoke  these  words,  I  conclud- 
ed that  as  providence  had  sent  for  rne  out  of 
the  dungeon,  it  was  my  duty  to  obey,  and 
hesitating  no  longer,  I  immediately  arose  and 
followed  him.  I  have  often  thought  that  this 
gentleman  (for  so  I  must  call  him)  had  an  kkja 
that  I  was  delirious,  and  tliat  my  imprisonment 
had  deprived  me  of  reason  ;  doubtless  this 
would  naturally  follow,  and  be  the  effects  of 
an  emaciated  body  worn  down  by  long  con- 
finement ;  but  he  was  ignorant  that  my  answer 
originated  from  the  consolation  received  by 
mv  remarkable  dream  !  Perhaps  hundreds 
who  may  read  these  pages,  may  be  ready  to 
say  that  I  am  relating  a  thing  very  singular  and 
almost  incredible  :  to  this  kind  of  readcTs  I 
sh'sl!  only  sav,  that  many  things  which  appear 
singuhritnd  uncommon  to  one,  will  appear  to 
another  qviitr  probable  and  VCTV  easv  to  be- 
lieve;  and  for  myself  I  can  say,  that  i 
N  2 


150 

passer!  th rou eb  many  scenes  of  affliction  which 
now  appear  lik*  a  dream;  vet  let  this  be  re- 
membered, that  I  have  been  very  particular 
in  this  narrative,  and  published  nothing  but 
what  I  have  critically  considered ;  I  have 
thrown  out  every  thing  spurious  in  a  former 
manuscript  unintelligibly  drawn,  and  recorded 
nothing  here  but  what  will  bear  the  test  of 
d*  bate,  founded  on  the  firm  basis  of  truth. 
I  just  mention  this  for  the  satisfaction  of  my 
friends  and  of  those  who  take  pleasure  in  read- 
ing only  such  books  or  narratives  as  are  found- 
ed on  fact. 

But  to  return ;  I  followed  the  officer  up  the 
stony  and  desolate  way,  until  we  reached  the 
top  of  the  dungeon ;  when  1  came  above 
ground,  and  especially  into  the  broad  street  of 
the  city,  I  could  not  bear  the  effulgent  rays  of 
light !  for  the  sun  shone  clear,  and  in  lucid 
rays  poured  his  transparent  beams  on  the  lair 
pavements  of  the  streets  ;  I  covered  my  face, 
and  gave  up  m\  self  to  be  conducted  wherever 
my  gentle  leader  was  pleased  to  comey  me. 
He  soon  led  me  to  the  Governor  of  the  citv, 
who  when  viewing  me  in  my  forlorn  and 
\yretohed  condition,  with  pale  and  meagre 
visage,  my  beard  grown  three  or  four  inches 
in  length  hanging  down  over  my  face,  my 
dress  which  was  altogether  of  silk  (  uited  to 
the  climate)  torn  and  tattered  against  the  stony 
pavements  and  straw  and  dirt,  bdng  worn 
iii'o  a  wr.etr.hed  representation  of  Mip<  rstitious 
tjriuirij  and  cruelty,  all  presenting  che  ingrat- 


151 

itude  of  the  ignorant  and  inhuman  conduct 
of  rhe  inhabitants  :  my  unjust  and  cruel  pun- 
ishment caused  the  heart  of  the  Governor  to 
melt,  and  his  eyes  to  drop  a  tear  of  compas- 
sion !  He  appeared  very  much  afflicted,  for 
having  sent  me  to  this  wretched  place  of  con- 
finement. Being  overcome  and  much  affected 
with  the  view  he  had  of  my  misery,  he  with- 
drew to  weep  and  dry  up  his  tears  ;  but  he 
soon  returned,  and  commanded  that  1  should 
be  decently  apparelled,  and  mv  beard  taken 
off  as  quick  as  possible  ;  his  orders  were 
immediately  obeyed,  and  I  soon  appeared  be- 
fore him  as  in  former  days.  This  superstitous, 
though  generous  hearted  man,  now  began  to 
explain  to  me  the  true  cause  of  all  my  mis- 
fo  une,  and  likewise  of  my  deliverance  ;  he 
said  that  I  should  be  compensated  for  all  my 
unlawful  confinement,  and  further  added,  that 
he  never  meant  to  deal  by  me  in  the  manner 
that  he  had  done,  but  was  necessitated  so  to 
d  >  iti  order  to  silence  the  clamours  of  the 
Spanish  monks  and  friars,  who  are  very  nu- 
nit-rous,  and  have  great  influence  in  the  g->v- 
erv.n.ent,  and  withal  are  ignorant  and  super- 
stitious in  the  highest  degree  ;  so  absolute  and 
predominant  are  they  in  these  parts,  that  what- 
ever they  siv  is  almost  the  law  of  the  coun- 
try ;  such  influence  has  the  veil  of  sanctitv  in 
some  parts  of  the  worid.  that  like  a  torrent, 
it  ca'-rk  s  all  before  it  ;  and  to  my  great  injury, 

h    vas  the  case  with  the  cieigy  of  the  city 

Mexico. 


152 

Bnt  to  proceed  ;  the  reader  vvoulr!  perhaps 
be  pleastd  to  know  how  and  in  what  manner 
I  obtained  my  release  from  this  worst  of  bon- 
d  ire.      It  happened  that  a  nobleman,  called 
Marquis  Cornelius,   came  from  old  Sp?in  on 
a  VHH  to  the  Governor  of  Mexico  ;  being  at 
di r.ner  together  on  a  certain  day,  the  Governor 
of  Mexico  in  the  course  of  conversation  in- 
formed the  Marquis  of  some  astonishing  feats 
that  were  lately  performed  by  a  young  gen- 
tleman from  Europe,  which  appeared  so  ob- 
vious to  the  clersry  to  be  a  compound  of  the 
basest  witchcraft,  that  they  caused  him  to  be 
taken  and  confined  in  a  dungeon  during  life. 
The  Marquis  being  a  nobleman  of  great  rank 
and  influence,    and  very  desirous   of  seeing 
some  of  those  feats  performed  in  his  presence, 
told  the  Governor  that  I  was  no  wizard   or 
sorcerer,  but  that  my  performances  were  the 
result  of  a  good  education,  Sec.  and  that  my 
imprisonment  was  both  cruel  and  unjust ;  he 
insisted   on  my  innocence  and   the  blind  su- 
perstition of  the  people  and  the  clergy  ;  that 
for  his  part,   he  should  like  much  to  see  an 
exhibition  of  these  feats  himself.     This  opin- 
ion of  the  Marquis,  flowing  from  a  fund  of 
superior  knowledge   of  the  nature  of  things, 
was  the  sole  cause  of  my  fi;-al  release,  and 
di  charge  from    mv   impending   dissolution; 
and  it  was  some  pleasure  to  me  to  come  out 
of  my    dungeon  in  the  manner  I  did,    for  I 
was  at   once  honored  and  rrspected  bv   the 
citizens,  i>  e.  the  noblemen  and  gentry  of  the 
city. 


153 

Being  now  at  liberty  in  this  fair  and  flour- 
ishing  city  once  more,  I  could  not  help  feeling 
a  degree  of  thankfulness  to  the  author  of  my 
being  for  my  singular  deliverance  ;  although 
(whilst  in  prison)  I  had  felt  myself  so  much 
reconciled  10  my  fate  ;  but  few  of  us  know 
what  we  are  until  we  are  tried,  neither  do  we 
know  what  we  should  be  in  many  or  I  mny 
say  in  any  new  circumstances,  until  experi- 
ence telis  us.  When  I  had  clothed  myself  in 
new  apparel,  and  was  again  dressed  in  a  res- 
pectable and  suitable  habit,  I  began  again  to 
feel  myself  recovering  strength,  and  to  act  and 
conduct  myself  with  my  former  agility  and 
ease  of  manners.  By  the  influence  of  the 
Marquis,  the  Governor  was,  probably,  induced 
to  make  a  public  confession,  for  his  having 
ungenerously  consented  to  my  imprisonment ; 
he  gave  an  invitation  to  the  first  characters  of 
the  city  to  ;^tu  nd  and  take  dinner  with  him  in 
his  own  house  on  a  certain  clay  ;  and  when 
all  were  collected  with  him,  I  .was  invited  to 
be  present.  The  Governor  wished  me  to  go 
to  my  former  lodgings,  and  make  search  for 
the  property  which  i  hud  left  there  at  the  time 
of  my  imprisonment ;  I  accordingly  did,  but 
found  that  the  host,  or  landlord,  had  removed 
and  gone  to  Peru  in  Souvh- America,  at  a  vast 
distance  from  Mexico,  and  was  entirely  out  of 
ITU  reach  ;  my  property  which  he  carried  off, 
was  a  trunk  with  clothes,  and  more  than  six 
thousand  dollars,  chkfly  in  gold.  The  Gov- 
ernor had  requested  that  whatever  might  be 


154 

the  event,  I  should  return  to  him  immediately. 
I  accordingly  did,  and  related  to  him  the 
circumstances  of  my  loss ;  I  believe,  that  he 
had  not  any  idea  of  my  having  so  ranch  pro- 
perty or  cash  at  that  time  in  my  possession, 
or  it  would  have  been  thought,  agreeably  to 
the  print: i pies  of  my  imprisonment,  that  it 
was  in  the  diocese  of  the  Governor  or  clergy, 
and  they  would  have  taken  it  for  the  benefit 
of  the  state  :  they  (the  clergy)  are  like  insa- 
tiable, greedy,  hungry  wolves  of  prey  in  grasp- 
ing- at  property,  and  as  they  had  influenced 
the  Governor  to  intend  my  imprisonment  du- 
ring life,  they  certainly  would  have  (somehow 
or  other)  took  ^ood  care  of  rny  effects ;  whe- 
ther they  did  this  in  reality,  and  only  sent 
me  to  the  place  of  my  former  lodgings  out  of 
pretence  for  a  covering  of  their  theft,  I  cannot 
tell ;  howbeit,  it  was  an  affair  too  delicate  for 
me  to  enquire  much  if  any  thing  about ;  and 
again,  it  was  more  than  probable,  that  as  it  was 
cash,  and  not  goods,  the  landlord  had  secreted 
it.  pretending  that  there  was  nothing  left  with 
him  but  the  cloathing ;  this  was  most  .prob- 
ably the  case,  from  his  having  quitted  his 
country  in  the  manner  in  which  he  did. 

But,  be  this  as  it  may,  I  returned  to  the 
Governor,  and  informed  him  how  the  circum- 
stances were  ;  he  and  the  noble  Marquis  de- 
clared their  sorrow  and  affliction  on  account 
of  my  loss  of  the  property,  as  well  as  my  un- 
happy imprisonment ;  however  we  were  all  in- 
Vitt-d  to  partake  of  the  sumptuous  dinner,  after 


155 

which  they  requested  (die  Marquis  in  particular) 
that  I  should  explain  to  them  the  whole  busi- 
ness ;  i.e.  my  intentions  in  entering  the  city  of, 
Mexico,  and  how  1  had  performed  the  public 
exhibitions,  especially  the  last,  and  wished 
that  I  would  explain  to  them  the  way  that  I 
raised  the  ghost  and  lighted  up  the  room  in 
such  a  remarkable  manner.  It  now  became, 
on  several  accounts,  necessary  that  I  should 
give  an  explanation  ;  and  first  on  account  of 
my  own  credit,  secondly  on  account  of  the 
Marquis,  and  thirdly  on  account  of  the  no- 
blemen  of  Mexico,  who  all  had  a  hand  in  en- 
couraging the  plays.  And  now  they  had  the 
satisfaction  of  hearing  the  whole  explained  to 
them,  which  I  did  as  fully  as  was  in  my  pow- 
er ;  they  were  ail  perfectly  satisfied,  and|acknow- 
Icdged  that  there  was  nothing  mysterious  or 
wicked  in  the  performances  more  than  in  any 
other  public  amusements  and  plays.  I  believe, 
however,  that  my  having  made  it  appear  that  I 
turned  water  into  wine,  was  the  greatest  occa- 
sion of  offence,  and  was  the  chief  means  of 
my  imprisonment ;  and  as  it  might  have  help- 
ed the  Deist  to  argue  against  the  true  miracles 
of  the  Son  of  God  himself,  I  concluded  that  I 
did  entirely  wrong  in  the  perform  an  oe  of  this 
sleight ;  and  indeed,  I  now  see  better  the  evil 
effects  of  all  such  things,  and  am  sensibly  con- 
vinced of  the  folly  and  absurdity  of  all  such 
proceedings,  as  it  is  a  foolish  and  unprofitable 
way  of  spending  both  time  and  money,  which 
might  be  much  belter  employed  ,  and  am  fully 


156 

determined  never  to  make  such  an  unprofitable 
and  unchristiun  use  of  my  abilities  again. 
The)  have  lately  appeared  to  me  to  be  things 
that  the  devil  makes  use  of,  in  order  if  possible 
to  draw  and  attract  the  attention  of  the  world 
toward  its  seeming  mysteries  and  curiosities, 
until  they  shall  have  spent  that  timeabout  them, 
which  they  had  allotted  them  for  making  a 
preparation  for  an  eternity  of  better  improve- 
ments hereafter. 

But  to  return  to  the  Governor ;  he  having 
heard  and  understood  the  nature  of  these  things, 
immediately  presented  me  (in  presence  of  a 
numerous  assembly)  one  thousand  dollars  ;  he 
further  added,  that  if  I  would  stay  in  his  do- 
minions, he  would  make  me  a  present  of  two 
thousand  acres  of  land  lying  in  the  country,  I 
think  not  more  than  sixty  or  seventy  miles 
from  the  city  of  Mexico  ;  but  I  must  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  superstitious  laws, 
and  I  suppose  religion  too,  of  the  country  ; 
and  then  obligate  myself  to  cultivate  such  a 
part  of  the  land,  build  on  it,  &c.  &c.  To  be 
obliged  to  live  in  the  country,  under  these 
conditions,  would  have  been  to  me  a  second 
imprisonment.  I  however  (to  please  the  Go- 
vernor) formally  accepted  the  land  as  well  as 
the  money,  lest  my  refusal  should  have  dis- 
pleased him  ;  but  my  only  motive  in  so  doing 
was  to  get  out  of  the  country  as  peaceably  and 
quick  as  possible,  for  I  began  to  abhor  Mexi- 
co, and  with  it  the  Spanish  name.  And  now  I 
took  an  everlasting  and  eternal  farewell  of  the ^ 


157 

Governor,  and  all  my  friends  in  the  city.  I  took, 
my  departure  in  a  French  vessel,  bound  to 
New- Orleans  ;  my  intentions  were  now  to  sail 
first  to  New- Orleans,  and  from  there  to  the 
United  States  of  America.  We  had  a  very 
pleasant  voyage,  until  we  came  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi ;  (none  but  those  who  have 
experienced  can  tell  the  pleasure  which  I  felt, 
when  I  had  got  free  from  the  worse  than 
Spanish  savages,  and  was  quitting  the  shores) : 
at  this  place  we  fell  in  with  an  English  man  of 
war!  She  appeared  very  willing  to  give  "us 
battle,  but  our  captain  knowing  better  the 
way  up  the  channel,  and  withal  having  but 
few  guns  to  fight  with,  was  induced  to  make 
use  of  policy  in  decoying  the  "British  ves- 
sel, and  accordingly  she  went  on  a  b;r,  and 
we  safely  proceeded  on  our  way  and  landed  at 
New- Orleans  on  the  7th  day  of  January,  1807. 
On  my  arrival  here,  I  went  and  visited  my 
former  friends,  who  all  received  ire  with  all 
the  demonstatians  of  joy  and  distinction  as 
formerly,  and  even  more  so,  on  account  of  my 
long  absence.  But  to  say  something  more 
concerning  the  British  ship.  After  she  was 
grounded,  our  captain  commanded  and  fired 
into  her,  set  her'  on  fire,  and  she  burnt  until 
bhe  sunk  ;  whilst  she  was  burning  the  men 
endeavored  to  get  from  her ;  some  of  them 
came  on  board  of  our  ship  by  a  generous  in- 
vitaton  of  our  captain,  and  i  beiiev:-.  that  J.ey 
were  set  free  when  we  had  arrived  at  Ncw"~ 
Orleans  ;  the  others,  indeed,  who  did  not  chiiiie 


158 

to  come  on  board  of  our  ship  many  of  them 
drowned  endeavoring  to  swim  on  shore  ;  the 
captain  himself  escaped. 

To  return  to  my  travels ;  the  reader  will 
recollect  that  I  was  now  in  the  city  of  New- 
Orleans,  and  well  received  by  my  old  friends  : 
as  I  happened,  however,  on  a  certain  evening 
to  be  in  a  public  house,  I  fell  into  conversa- 
tion with  two  gentlemen  who  were  much  in 
the  same  situation  with  myself,  and  under  the 
same  necessity  of  seeking  their  fortunes ; 
I  discoursed  with  them  from  time  to  time, 
and  eventually  contracted  an  intimacy ;  we 
agreed  to  unite  in  some  trading  business,  and 
making  one  general  fund  of  our  property,  we 
drew  writings  and  entered  on  business  ;  our 
purpose  was  speculation ;  the  whole  of  our 
stock  amounted  to  about  three  thousand  doll- 
ars ;  and  as  they  understood  my  character  pretty 
well,  as  I  had  been  there  before,  and  well  re- 
commended, they  wished  me  to  take  the  chief 
of  the  business  on  myself;  and  placing  an  un- 
common large  share  of  confidence  in  me,  by 
committing  to  my  care  all  the  money,  I  en- 
deavored to  lay  a  plan  to  get  them  and  myself 
an  independent  fortune  as  soon  as  possible ; 
they  were  both  of  them  honest  Germans,  the 
one  was  John  Lewis  and  the  other  Abram 
Johnson.  They  were  undoubtedly  a  couple 
of  pretty  honest  men  themselves,  or  they  would 
not  have  trusted  all  their  fortune  in  your  pos- 
session, the  rogue  would  say.  Bui  stop,  sir, 
and  consider  first  there  is  no  such  thing  as  do- 


159 

ing  any  kind  of  business  unless  we  have  faiih 
enough  to  trust  somebody  ;  and  although  they 
have  the  best  recommendations  in  the  world, 
I  will  allow  that  unless  we  ourselves  see  some- 
thing in  them  to  help  forward  and  establish 
these  recommendations,  we  are  still  doubtful 
that  the  person  .recommended  is  not  what 
(perhaps)  he  is  recommended  to  be  ;  that  the 
persons  who  have  recommended  him,  may 
have  been  entirely  deceived  in  his  character  ; 
and,  if  I  should  take  him  for  an  honest  man, 
as  he  is  said  to  be,  he  may  make  me  repent  of 
it  when  too  late.  These  observations  are 
good  ;  but,  what  if  we  are  made  to  believe, 
from  a  gentleman's  own  declaration  of  his  life 
and  principles,  which  he  delivers  to  us  from 
the  simplicity  of  his  heart  and  in  a  disinterest- 
ed manner,  or  before  he  has  any  idea  of  being 
profited  by  his  declaration,  we  may  then  have 
good  reason  to  believe  him  ;  but  nevertheless, 
there  is  no  certainty  in  any  thing  under  the 
sun,  and  we  are  always  necessitated  to  trust : 
such  however  was  the  case  with  us  all ;  I  think 
that  we  had  an  unshaken  confidence  in  each 
other. 

We  bought  a  boat,  sufficiently  large  to  carry 
our  goods,  which  were  merchandise  of  differ- 
ent kinds,  and  immediately  we  proceeded  up 
the  Mississippi,  to  the  town  of  Nachitoches, 
up  the  Red  river  in  the  Louisiana  Territory, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Mississippi ;  but  be- 
fore we  arrived  at  the  place  of  our  intended 
we  were  obliged  to  take  licence  of 


160 

commander  in  chief,  who  had  had  dominion,' 
isr;d  govr-nied  this  part  of  the  continent,  after 
which,  v\re  proceeded  up  Red  river  to  the  place 
(  f  commerce,  sold  our  goods,  and  purchased 
wild  horses,  which  are  to  be  had  here  for  a 
mere  trifle,  i.  e,  from  one  to  two  dollars  each  ; 
we  purchased  four  hundred  of  them,  and  tying 
them  together  in  a  convenient  mode  for  driv- 
ing, we  hired  a  pilot,  and  commenced  our 
journey  back  ;  we  proceeded  towards  the 
Hatches;  having  hired  some  Indians  and  a 
good  Spanish  piiot,  we  had  in  a  few  days  made 
great  progress  in  our  journey,  and  although 
we  travelled  through  such  a  vast  and  terrible 
wilderness,  yet  there  was  a  way  or  road  cut 
through  which  was  quite  passable.  We  had 
gotten  within  about  ten  miles  of  the  Spanish 
:md  American  line,  when  we  met  with,  and 
were  attacked  by  a  banditti  of  Spanish  brava- 
does, or  robbers,  who  lie  in  the  woods  and 
amongst  the  rocks  ;  they  follow  robbing  for  a 
living  ;  they  are  bold,  and  determined  in  what- 
ever they  undertake  ;  having  many  of  them 
seen  through  the  falsity  of  their  own  religion, 
and  not  having  had  wisdom  enough  to  find 
out  a  better,  or  something  to  help  them  to  the 
support  of  a  moral  character,  they  are  entirely 
cast  out  as  the  bond- slaves  of  satan,  and  have 
given  themselves  up  to  the  devil  without  fre 
or  reward.  Having  previously  dispatched  our 
& ;>:mish  guide  to  look  out  the  way,  ue  enter- 
til.; iecl  afterward,  a  strong  suspicion  that  he 
liud  mfc.fmed  then)  of  the  great  booty  that  was 


161 

behind,  and  what  confirmed  me  in  th>s  opin- 
ion was  his  appearing  in  sight  of  us  a  sec  ->d 
time.  When  we  were  attacked  by  this  club 
of  wretches,  the  ideas  that  struck  me  were 
very  disagreeable ;  I  knew  that  such  a  banditti 
of  villains  would  not  be  found  in  such  a  place 
as  this  on  any  respectable  business  ;  however^ 
they  came  up  to  us,  and  demanded  of  us  the 
property  or  horses  ;  we  were  obliged  to  yield 
to  them  without  resistance.  After  this  sud- 
den and  unexpected  loss,  I  and  my  compan- 
ions rode  on  our  journey  together,  and  1  heard 
a  murmuring  with  them  at  the  loss  of  all  in 
such  an  unjust  manner ;  for  my  own  part,  my 
resentment  was  raised  to  the  highest  pitch  im- 
aginable ;  I  told  them  that  if  they  would  go 
buck  with  me,  as  we  all  had  pistols  and  swords, 
we  would  be  revenged  on  as  many  of  them  as 
possible  :  they  answered  that  life  was  sweeter 
to  them  than  property,  &c.  I  told  them  that 
as  they  were  only  armed  with  knives  and 
clubs,  there  was  not  much  danger  in  my  opin- 
ion,  and  we  might  perhaps  scatter  and  drive 
them,  and  gain  the  property  ;  for  my  own  part,, 
the  aggravation  was  far  greater  and  heavier 
than  what  it  could  be  on  them,  for  by  the 
Spanish  robbery  and  cruelty  I  had  before  been 
robbed  in  New- Orleans,  and  in,  Mexico  ;  and 
siow  again  robbed  of  all  my  property  and 
dependence  for  subsistence  in  a  country  where 
they  received  not  the  least  aggravation  to  the 
crime  ;  no,  not  so  much  as  a  pretence  :  these 
thoughts  passed  through  my  mind  like  light 


162 

ning,  and  there  was  not  time  to  mention  them 
now  to  my  companions,  and  if  I  had,  1  did 
not  expect  that  it  would  have  much  influenc- 
ed their  conduct,  as  the  human  heart  is  liable 
to  feel  but  very  little  the  dishonors  and  aggra- 
vations, done  to  others  ;  but  from  selfish  mo- 
tives, I  had  the  fortune,  or  rather  misfortune, 
to  influence  and  encourage  them  so  much, 
that  they  both  agreed  to  go  back  and  do  the 
best  they  co_uld.  We  rode  on,  having  each 
of  us  a  pair  of  double  barrelled  pistols,  well 
charged,  and  all  in  readiness  for  a  sudden  and 
spirited  attack.  I  felt  at  this  time  so  much 
injured  and  imposed  on  by  these  inhuman 
wretches,  that  I  thought  but  little  about  my 
I  own  life,  and  accordingly  rushed  on  them 
with  violence. 

I  discharged  one  of  my  pistols,  at  which 
one  of  them  fell :  I  immediately  discharged 
the  second,  and  brought  down  another.;  I 
made  what  use  I  could  of  my  sword,  and  both 
of  my  companions  were  doubtless  engaged, 
and  did  execution;  yet,  how  much  or  how 
little  they  did  I  could  never  tell,  as  I  had  as 
much  to  do  as  I  could  turn  my  hands  to; 
the  banditti  surrounded  me,  and  fiercely 
fought  me  with  knives  and  clubs ;  in  this 
battle  I  lost  sight  in  a  few  minutes  of  my  com- 
panions ;  whether  they  were  killed  or  fled,  I 
could  never  learn  ;  however,  I  wounded  two 
or  three,  besides  the  killed,  and  took  my 
flight  as  fast  as  possible.  I  concluded  that 
my  companions  had  fled,  and  pursued  the  way 


163 

on  that  point  of  compass  which  I  supposed 
the  v  had  go  Me,  but  to  my  surprise  1  had  taken 
a  different  way  from  what  I  had  expected,  and 
was  soon  put  to  a  stand  by  finding  the  Red- 
river  just  before  me  :  this  brought  me  up  to 
short  quarters :  the  Spaniards  pursued  me 
hard,  and  expected,  doubtless,  that  1  was  now 
a  free  victim  to  their  savage  rage  :  but  heaven 
designed  for  me  a  better  fate,  and  although  I 
was  on  a  bank  six  or  eight  feet  above  the  sur- 
face  of  the  river,  1  pur  the  spurs  to  my  horse, 
ind  bti'ig  naturally  high  spirited,  he  coura- 
geously sprung  into  it  and  soon  wafted  me 
over  to  the  other  side,  out  of  their  reach. 
This  river  was  quite  deep,  nnd  my  horse 
sunk  down  with  me  entirely  under  water  for 
a  few  seconds  ;  but,  being  now  safe  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  the  first  thing  which 
came  under  consideration  was,  how  to  find  my 
way  out  amongst  the  civilized  inhabitants*  To 
trouble  my;-eif  about  my  loss,  was  now  im- 
practicable, Mnd  my  thoughts  were  wholly  occu- 
pied in  finding  my  way  through  the  trackless 
\vilderness  ;  tlie  sky « was  overcast  with  thick 
clouds,  so  thick  that  I  could  not  discover  the 
sun,  and  could  only  tell  the  point  of  compass 
by  the  moss  on  the  trees,  and  by  the  limbs 
at  u  boughs  of  the  trees;  as  1  had  her>rd  it  ob- 
served that  the  North  side  of  the  trees  were. 
generally  mossy,  or  the  moss  on  the  trees  wa 
always  on  the  North  side,  and  that  the  largest 
and  heaviest  limbs  grew  on  the  North  side  of 
trees:  by  these  remarks  I  was  able  to 


keepapreny  steady  course  to  Matches, 
lay  in  about  a  north-east  direction  from  n-hcre 
I  then  was  ;  here  I  was  in  a  destitute  situation, 
because  I  knew  not  where  to  go,  or  in  what 
direction  to  steer  in  order  to  find  a  path  to 
travel  iii ;  and  although  I  knew  nearly  the 
point  of  compass  which  the  Natches  lay  from 
me,  yet  how  to  get  there  through  a  wilderness 
of  creeks,  swamps,  and  wild  beasts,  I  knew 
not ;  but,  live  or  die  on  my  passage,  I  was 
obliged  to  set  off  and  do  the  best  in  my  pow- 
er, and  trusting  in  the  God  of  providence 
whose  protecting  hand  supports  us  all,  1 
mounted  my  horse  and  set  out  on  this  dubious 
and  melancholy  journey. 

Thu.s,  taking  rm  journey  through  this  track- 
less and  melancholy  wilderness,  I  travelled 
through  swamps,  ditches,  and  creeks :  every 
thing  of  a  disconsolate  nature  was  my  lot,  in 
this  tremendous  desart,  that  could  deject  the 
thoughts  and  afflict  the  heart  of  man.  1  took 
up  my  rest  at  night  ia  this  lonely  wilderness. 
The  next  day  was  still  more  distressing,  for 
as  I  advanced  on  the  way,  the  passage  grew 
worse;  I  had  such  melancholy  thoughts  about 
ever  getting  through  safe,  that  my  appetite  for 
food  seemed  entirely  to  leave  me,  although  I 
had  some  with  me,  and  might  have  taken  suf- 
ficient refreshment.  At  night  I  rested  my- 

if  under  a  tree,  and  reposed  myself  as  well 
as  possible  until  the  morning.  I  arose  and 
pi!'  sned  my  journey ;  as  for  my  horse,  he  fed 
-at  times  on  such  things  as  the  desert  afforded;. 


1GS 

on  this  .unfortunate  day  I  travelled  about  six 
mile:;  over  a  miry  piece  of  ground,  and  every 
minute  1  was  in  tear  that  my  hazardous  jour- 
ney was  at  an  end,  for  I  was  often  i;i-  clanger 
of  sinking  into  the  mire ;  at  length  looking 
forward,  I  saw  the  whole  face  of  the  country 
covered  with  water;  this  put  me  quite  at  a 
stand  for  a  few  minutes ;  however,  1  conclud- 
ed that  some  way  might  be  found  out  to  pass 
on  another  side,  and  rode  backward,  and  on 
the  right  hand  and  left,  but  found  no  way  pos- 
sible ;  at  last  making  a  virtue  of  necessity, 
with  the  fox  in  the  fable  I  forbore  to  complain, 
and  ventured  myself  forward ;  I  could  per- 
ceive no  stream  flowing  from  any  point  of 
compass,  therefore,  prepared  myself  to  cross 
a  miry  and  watery  swamp  ;  these  swamps 
I  had  learnt  were  very  common  in  this 
part  of  the  country  :  here  I  stood  for 
some  time,  with  a  dejected  and  melancholy 
heart,  death  was  the  consequence  if  I  should 
not  reach  over,  i;nd  the  bottom  was  all  mud 
and  mire,  without  doubt ;  however,  I  was 
more  afraid  of  losing  my  horse,  than  meet- 
ing with  much  difficulty  in  getting  across  my- 
self, unless  I  was  interrupted  by  the  tortoise 
or  water-snake  ;  but  considering  that  we  sel- 
dom know  what  we  are  able  to  undergo  un- 
til we  are  put  to  the  trial,  I  thought  it  better 
to  venture,  than  to  stay  and  perish  where  I 
was ;  accordingly  I  mounted  my  horse  and 
proceeded  to  the  dreadful  ta*k;  I  ventered  in- 
to the  swamp,  went  abu.ut  four  huudnd 


166 

yards,  when  I  found  that  my  horse  was  sink- 
ing in  the  mire ;  this  terrified  me,  and  my 
heart  begun  to  sink  ;  I  recovered  a  little  of  my 
courage,  and  by  a  violent  effort  spurring  up 
the  beast,  he  sprung  out  again ;  I  then  pro- 
ceeded forward,  but  not  knowing  what  might 
yet  happen,  I  took  off  all  my  clothes,  (my 
shirt  excepted)  determined  to  save  myself  (if 
possible)  by  swimming,  if  my  horse  should 
fail  me,  and  proceeded  forward  about  fifty 
yards  further  ;  here  my  horse  stuck  fast  in  the 
mud,  being  now  two  or  three  feet  deep  in 
mud  and  water,  with  the  probability  of  its  be- 
ing ten  times  worse.  I  was  obliged  to  leave 
him,  in  this  wretched  state  to  perish  and  die, 
or  extricate  himself  as  well  as  he  could.  I 
left  him,  with  saddle,  portmanteau  and  all  my 
clothes  on  his  back  :  it  was  a  melancholy 
signt ;  but  it  was  out  of  my  power  to  prevent 
it  ;  I  could  only  pity  the  pcor  creature  ;  and 
as  he  was  ah  extraordinary  good  beast,  and 
very  faithful,  I  felt  the  loss  of  1  .u  the  more. 
When  I  quit  his  back  the  water  was  breast 
high  and  the  bottom  a  very  soft  quaggy  mud  ; 
I  was  afraid  to  stand  on  the  bottom,  lest  I 
should  endanger  myself,  and  swam  to  a  dis- 
tant, tree  and  rested ;  then  looking  back  once 
more  to  my  horse,  I  saw  him  give  one  more 
struggle,  one  more  effort  to  extricate  himself, 
and  follow  after  his  master ; — but  in  vain  5 
his  feet  were  too  fast  in  the  mire,  and  having 
spent  all  his  strength  in  struggling  to  get  out, 
be  sunk  down :  I  saw  him  fail  on  one  side 


167 

unable  to  keep  an  erect  position  any  longer, 
and  not  knowing  but  my  own  fate  would  be 
nearly  allied  to  his,  I  had  enough  to  do  to  take 
care  of  myself,  and  plunging  again  into 
tqe  pond  soon  swain  to  one  tree,  and  then 
to  another :  thus  I  proceeded  about  one  him- 
dred  and  fifty  rods  across  this  dismal  place, 
and  arrived  safe  on  dry  ground  1  I  now  once 
more  looked  back  and  saw  the  good  and  faith- 
ful beast,  expiring  and  sinking  down  in  the 
mud  and  water,  with  saddle,  portmanteau,  and 
all  my  clothes,  some  money,  my  watch,  and 
every  thing  which  was  of  any  value  to  me. 
He  was  one  of  the  kindest  and  b;.st  of  horses 
that  the  country  afforded ;  thus  my  all  was 
gone,  and  I  was  obliged  to  shift  for  myself  as 
well  as  1  could.  I  never  before  believed  that 
I  could  feel  so  much  pity  for  a  beast,  as  I  now 
felt  for  my  poor  horse.  Here  I  sat  down  to 
rest  and  wept ;  and  now,  considering  mvself 
as  bare  of  property  as  I  came  into  the  world, 
(my  shirt  excepted),  I  thought  best  to  keep 
my  way  forward  until  I  reached  some  white 
inhabitants,  tell  them  my  misfortune,  and 
humbly  ask  for  their  assistance  ;  here,  almost 
distracted,  worn  down  with  fatigue,  fears  and 
hunger,  I  was  almost  ready  to  despair  and  die 
in  the  wilderness ;  but  whilst  there  is  life 
there  is  hope,  and  I  concluded  that  in  a  short 
time  I  might  reach  some  inhabitants.  I  tra- 
velled the  remaining  part  of  that  day  without 
seeing  inhabitants  of  any  kind  ;  I  satisfied  my 
f.iintness  and  hunger  with  berries  and  plumbs 


163 

which  were  in  the  woods  ;  night  at  last  came 
on,  and  I  was  obliged  to  take  up  my  lodging 
for  once  more  in  a  howling  and  tremendWs 
desert,  without  any  covering  but  such  as  the 
God  of  nature  afforded  me  !  in  this  deplorable 
situation  I  spent  a  very  restless  night !  I  knew 
not,  but  often  feared,  that  I  should  be  des- 
troyed before  I  awoke,  if  I  dared  to  close  my 
eyes  in  sleep.  However  dangerous  it  may 
appear  at  night,  in  such  an  uninhabited  and 
trackless  desert,  yet,  it  was  not  so  dangerous 
on  the  account  of  wild  beasts  as  in  the  day, 
for  at  night  they  are  generally  all  of  them  in 
their  dens,  or  at  their  places  of  rest.  I  slept 
but  little,  and  at  the  dawn  of  the  day,  I  awoke, 
and  proceeded  on  my  journey.  This  day 
I  concluded  to  travel  as  near  as  possible  in  an 
easterly  direction  ;  nothing  happened  materi- 
al during  the  day,  excepting  this,  that  I  grew 
extremely  hungry  and  faint  with  my  fatigue  ; 
when  the  night  again  approached,  and  the 
sable  curtain  of  darkness  was  fast  spreading 
its  gloomy  wings  over  the  face  of  the  horizon, 
just  now,  looking  round  about  on  every  side, 
I  espied  a  light  as  of  fire  shining  and  gleam- 
ing through  the  trees ;  the  sight  of  this  light 
gave  me  a  transport  of  sudden  and  unexpected 
joy,  as  this  was  a  savage  and  inhospitable 
wilderness  ;  I  was  afraid,  on  a  second  reflec- 
tion, that  I  might  encounter  indians,  who 
would  soon  put  an  end  to  my  life ;  but  ven- 
turing still  nearer,  I  found  that  they  were  white 
inhabitants,  who  were  out  in  the  woods,  and 


169 

for  what  end  or  business  I  knew  not ;  draw- 
ing still  nearer,  I  found  by  thtir  conduci  and 
language,   that  they  were  making  sugar.     Of 
the   company  there  were  three  men  and  four 
women  ;   decency    obliged  me  to  stand  and 
call  to  them  at  some  distance,    and  I  'asked 
them  if  it  was  in  their  power  to  shew  favor, 
to  a  poor  and  distressed  traveller  ?  And,  briefly 
relating  my   misfortunes  and  wretched  situa- 
tion, they  were  immediately  moved  with  my 
helpless   condition,  and  gave  me  a  gentle  and 
kind  invitation  to  their  camp  !    The  reason  of 
my   being  obliged  to  stand  and  call  on  them 
at  a  distance  was,  as  1  would  be  undeist' 
that  the  laws  of  delicacy  demanded  it,  as  I 
was,  as  has  been  related,  almost,  naked.  They 
all  appeared  to  sympathize   with   me  in  my 
sorrows  and  woes,  and  imparted  to  the  supply 
of  my  necessities,  of  such  things  as  they  had  : 
they  gave  me  victuals  and  clothing  ;  the  food, 
indeed,  was  dry  and  indifferent,  but  it  was  the 
best   that  the   camp  afforded,   and  as  for  the 
clothing,    what  they  gave  me  was   the  only 
garments  which  they  could  part  with  ;  one  of 
the  men  gave    me   his    doublet,    or  outside 
waistcoat,  and  one  of  the  ladies  gave  me  her 
spare  petticoat,  which  I  made  to  answer  install 
of  pantaloons  ;  the   men  were  not  in  circum- 
stances to  part  with  any  of  theirs.     J  had  joy 
for  my   happy  deliverance  on  one  hand,    and 
sorrowful  reflections  for  my  loss  on  the  o'her, 
but  I  h .-,-(!  now  pretty  good  company,   and  we 
-'.xl  o^T  the  evening  as  cheerfully  as  my  cir» 


170 

cu instances  would  admit ;  my  rest  with  them 
was  tolerable  comfortably,  and  early  in  the 
morning  they  gave  me  a  portion  of  their  pro- 
visions, and  direction  to  go  the  most  direct 
way  to  the  Mississippi  river,  which  they  said 
was  not  more  than  ten  miles  distant. 

I  now  took  new  courage,  and  travelled,  on 
without  meeting  with  any  thing  material,  un- 
til I  reached  the  river  opposite  the  town  of 
Natches.  I  gave  my  signal  to  be  carried  over 
and  was  quickly  conveyed  across  the  river  to 
the  town.  I  had  formerly  been  in  this  place, 
as  the  reader  will  recollect,  and  sold  five 
hundred  gallons  of  wiskey  to  a  merchant  who 
lived  still  in  the  same  place.  He  was  very 
much  surprised  to  see  me  in  such  a  wretched 
and  forlorn  situation,  and  asked  me  (no  won- 
der) what  I  followed^,  or  intended  to  follow ;  I 
then  related  to  him  (in  short)  the  various 
scenes  and  changes  which  I  had  passed  through 
since  I  had  seen  him  last :  he  compassionated 
my  case,  and  recommended  me  to  a  respecta- 
ble taylor  by  the  name  of  John  Collins.  He 
furnished  me  with  clothes  ;  I  took  new  cloth 
out  of  his  store,  and  made  them  up  myself; 
I  had  also  made  the  petticoat  into  a  form 
somewhat  like  pantaloons,  at  the  carnp  where 
it  was  given  me  ;  having  no  needle  or  thread 
there,  I  had  made  use  of  pins  to  pin  the  sides. 

At  the  end  of  two  weeks,  whilst  at  work 
with  Mr.  Collins,  I  went  with  one  of  my  new 
acquaintances  to  a  public  house  to  drink  with 
him  a  glass  of  wine.  I  fell  into  -conversation, 
with  a  gentleman,  late  from  New- Orleans  : 


171 

he  informed  me  that  his  intentions  were  to 
spend  the  summer  season  in  those  parts.  I 
soon  found  that  he  was  no  American  by  his 
language  as  he  spoke  broken  English.  I  then 
spoke  to  him  in  the  French  language,  and  he 
anwered  me  in  French,  and  immediately  in 
terrogated  me  in  the  German  :  this  raised  my 
curiosity  to  enquire  of  what  nation  he  was, 
and  where  was  the  place  of  his  nativity.  H(" 
informed  me  that  he  was  lately  from  Germany, 
and  followed  a  commercial  line  of  business. 
On  a  more  particular  inquiry,  I  found  that  he 
was  from  the  very  same  place  where  I  was 
raised.  He  then  asked  me  my  name  :  I  an- 
swered him  that  my  name  was  Andrew  Ochler, 
and  furthermore  told  him  the  place  of  my  na- 
tivity :  at  this  information,  \jith  which  he  ap- 
peared extremely  pleased,  he  asked  me  jf  I  re- 
membered one  John  Grossman,  an  old  school 
mate  of  mine  at  the  time  1  was  bound  to  tlte 
taylor's  trade  :  I  answered  him  in  the  affirma- 
tive, and  related  some  things  concerning  the 
boy  which  he  knew  to  be  perfectly  correct ; 
he  then  enquired  of  me  my  present  profession, 
expecting,  doubtless  that  1  had  by  that  time 
acquired  a  better  and  more  lucrative  employ- 
ment :  I  related  to  him  in  a  brief  and  concise 
form  the  singular  adventures  which  I  had 
passed  through,  together  with  my  fortune  in 
all  my  enterprises,  both  prosperous  and  adverse 
since  I  had  left  my  native  country.  At  the 
relation  of  my  unfortunate  tale  of  wo  he  ap- 
peared to  be  sensibly  impresstxl  with  my  loss, 


172 

M'icl  my  melancholy  situation  !   he  how  gave 
me  a   presiiiig  invitation  to  return  to  my  na- 


tve country,  to  my  friends  arid  relations,  and 


them  of  the  plenty  of  flowing 
riches  in  which  they  abounded;  but  I  inform- 
ed him,  that  it  was  out  of  my  power  to  com- 
ply with  his  ivc]Ui:st  at  present,  that  I  was  not 
in  circumstances  suriiciently  equipped  for  such 
an  expensive  voyage,  and  totally  unsupplied 
Yviui  money;  just  then  he  further  asked  me  if 
1  was  not  a  brother  to  George  Oehier  the 
ro-jrfehant  in  Franckfort  of  Maine:  I  replied  that 
as  :  lie  then  discoursed  with  me  on  several 
s  of  my  father's  family  more  largely  and 
my  brother  George  in  particular,  until 
he  was  perfectly  satisfied  that  if  I  had  intended 
to  impose  on  his  seeming  credulity,  that 
I  should  have  been  thwarted  in  the  imposture 
r?}  more  than  twenty  instances  ;  having  explain- 
ed many  things  so  accurately,  and  asked  him 
so  rr.any  questions  concerning  the  welfare  and 
condition  -of  my  relations  and  friends,  that  he 
appeared  perfectly  .satisfied  beyond  a  doubt, 
that  I  was  a  brother  to  George  Oehier  the 
merchant  in  Franckfort  on  the  Maine  :  he  then 
said,  if  you  will  go  with  me  to  your  brother,  I 
will  engage  to  defray  the  ex  pence  and  outfit 
of  the  voyage;  and  further  informed  me  that 
my  brother  and  father  were  in  partnership  in 
trade  and  commerce  in  mercantile  business, 
which  they  followed  very  extensively,  and  that 
he  was  sent  on  speculation  ;  that  he  came  into 
tliia  country  to  enquire  into  the  sale,  quality 


17S 

and  prices  of  the  different  commodities  and  ar- 
ticles of  commerce,  and  to  carry  the  best  in- 
formation possible  back  to  the  company,  for 
that  on  his  information  depended  the  extension 
of  their  commerce  to  this  part  of  the  Ameri- 
can contient;  that  he  should  tarry  in  those 
parts  about  three  months  and  then  return  to 
Germany,  and  if  I  would  go  with  him,  he 
would  engage  that  my  brother  should  intro- 
duce or  place  rne  in  profitable  business  where 
there  would  be  no  doubt  I  should  do  ex- 
tremely well.  I  then  candidly  informed  him 
of  the  resolution  which  I  had  formed,  i.  e. 
never  to  enter  the  bounds  of  my  native  coun- 
try again.  My  thoughts  were  then  bent  on 
my  afflictions  when  I  wrote  to  them  for  a 
little  money,  and  received  in  return  from  them 
an  insolent  and  degrading  letter  ;  though,  in- 
deed, my  young? st  sister  was  of  another  spirit, 
and  when  I  visited  her  afterwards  and  informed 
her  of  my  intended  journey  to  the  American 
colonies,  she  did  by  argument,  every  thing  in 
her  power  to  dissuade  me  from  the  hazardous 
voyage ;  and  finding  that  my  plan  was  not 
to  be  altered,  gave  me  all  the  money  she  could 
raise  to  assist  me  on  my  voyage.  I  informed 
him  of  the  letter  which  I  received  in  Paris, 
and  that  owing  to  the  exaggerated  tale  of  my 
imprisonment  there,  it  probably  was  that  I 
had  received  such  an  insolent  answer  in  the 
time  of  my  distress  ;  that  if  I  was  in  fault, 
still  it  was  not  of  such  a  criminal  nature  as 
what  they  expressed  in  the  ridiculous  letter* 
p  2 


174 

and  that  niv  accuser  acknowledged  that  I  was 
innocent  of  the  charge,  of  the  crime  laid 
against  me ;  the  letter  also  intimated  their 
willingness  to  believe  the  worst,  which  to  me 
argued  a  profession  of  prejudice,  originated 
long  before  an  account  of  rny  having  left 
them  in  my  younger  years  ;  their  prejudice 
having  founded  itself  on  the  actions  of  my 
youth,  a  trifle  would  keep  up  the  blaze,  and  it 
might  cost  more  than  I  should  be  able  to 
perform  to  bring  it  down  to  a  tolerable  degree 
of  gentleness  ;  therefore,  I  should  be  happier, 
in  my  judgment,  to  tarry  in  this  country  until, 
at  least,  I  should  acquire  so  much  property 
as  to  visit  them  in  an  independent  form,  or  in 
a  manner  independent  of  them.  Here  our 
social  communications  ended.  The  next  day 
he  presented  me  with  the  generous  sum  of 
two  hundred  dollars,  to  assist  me  to  go  into 
business  ;  1  shall  ever  remember  such  a  friend. 
I  gave  him  my  bond  for  the  money,  and  the 
day  following  bought  me  several  kinds  of 
goods  in  order  to  prosecute  a  trading  voyage 
amongst  the  Indians  ;  with  these  goods  1  took 
four  hundred  dollars  worth  more  on  credit, 
then  I  purchased  a  small  boat  sufficient  to 
carry  them,  hired  two  men  to  assist  me,  and 
on  the  26th  day  of  August  1807,  took  leave 
of  al!  my  good  friends  at  the  Natches,  and 
sai :'i  d  up  the  Mississippi  until  we  entered  the 
H  osack  river  in  order  to  trade  with  the  H..O- 
sa«:k  nation.  This  settlement  of  ird':-n  is 
about  fifty  iniks  iroin  the  mouth  of  the  Hoc- 


175 

sack  river,  which  empties  its  waters  into  the 
Mississippi.  This  tribe  of  savages  were  very 
friendly  and  hospitable,  and  willing  to  trade, 
and  with  them  I  exchanged  the  chief  part  of 
my  goods  for  skins,  or  furs  of  different  kinds. 
Amongst  them  were  some  French  and  half 
coloured  inhabitants.  Having  finished  my 
business,  1  with  my  two  men  put  on  board 
our  load  of  furs,  and  made  the  best  of  our 
way  down  the  river  toward  the  N -itches.  On 
our  journey  there  was  only  one  circumstance 
of  any  consequence  that  happened,  and  that 
was  a  pretty  serious  aff.ir  ;  I  shall  be  brief, 
and  relate  it  in  the  following  manner  :  on  our 
passage  a  gale  of  wind  unexpectedly  sprung 
up,  and  we  were  compelled  to  make  the  shore  ; 
and  we  went  in  near  to  a  house  ;  we  went  in  to 
the.  house  after  tying  our  boat,  and  found 
there  two  men  and  two  women.  After  an 
introduction,  as  is  common,  we  po  itely  askrd 
of  them  something  to  eat  and  told  rhem  that 
we  should  be  glad  to  pay  them  generously 
for  it, -as  we  had  been  some  time  without  food  ; 
but  by  their  conversation  it  appeared  that  they 
had  nothing  to  eat  for  themselves  :  I  then 
told  one  of  my  hands  to  return  to  the  boat, 
and  bring  some  provisions,  with  a  bottle  of 
spirits  ;  he  immediately  obeyed,  and  we  made 
a  comfortable  dinner :  we  invited  the  gentle- 
n»<'i»  ot  the  house  to  drink  some  of  the  spirits; 
th  y  very  wiliitigiy  accepted,  and  w<->re  soon 
p.  't\  merry.  1  rtqu.*  ,ved  my  men  to  lake-  a 
loo*  at  the  boat  and  bte  if  nothing  had  hup- 


176 

pened  to  it  ;  in  the  mean  time,  our  hosts 
threw  themselves  into  a  conversation  about 
free  masonry,  and  insisted  on  my  leading 
them  into  the  secret.  I  told  them  that  it  was 
out  of  my  po;.verto  comply  with  their  request ; 
but  they  sternly  toid  me,  that  if  I  would  not 
comply  with  the  request  quietly  that  I  should 
be  forced  to  it  ;  and  instantly  they  dragged 
me  out  of  the  house  into  a  piece  of  woods 
not  far  distant ;  here  they  appeared  determin- 
ed to  use  force,  and  being  in^d  anger  of  my 
life,  I  cried  for  help  :  at  this  critical  moment, 
my  two  men  came  running  to  my  assistance, 
and  we  were  all  soon  in  a  sharp  combat. 
Whilst  the  combat  lasted,  one  of  the  women, 
no  less  wicked  or  inhuman  than  the  men, 
loosed  our  boat  and  sent  her  drifting  down  the 
river.  My  two  men,  being  too  strong  and 
courageous  for  my  enemies,  overpowered 
them,  and  gave  them  a  handsome  correction. 
Having  seen  how  agreeably  the  affair  had 
turned  with  my  enemies,  I  looked  around,  and 
saw  our  boat  floating  down  the  river.  I  im- 
mediately ran  to  the  shore  on  the  river  side, 
and  finding  a  small  canoe,  I  called  to  my  two 
men  and  we  got  into  her  and  made  after  our 
boat ;  she  had  unfortunately  stuck  in  a  tree 
top,  which  lay  fastened  in  the  river  at  the 
but  end ;  one  of  our  oars  were  broken  in  two 
pieces  about  in  the  middle,  and  as  for  the 
rudder  of  the  boat,  it  was  entirely  broken  to 
pieces.  Seeing  the  danger  that  we  were  in 
the  current  of  the  river,  of  losing  our 


m 

boat  and  property,  we  were  obliged  to  call 
on  the  enemy  for  assiatar.ee,  and  -offered  them 
a  keg  of  spirits  or  a  barrel  of  flour,  if  they 
would  as°:st  us  in  getting  offlly  b  at.  They, 
after  a  short  pause,  fell  in  with  the  offer,  and 
came  to  our  assistance  ;  one  V*f  them  who  ap- 
peared most  backward  at  the  first  invitation, 
afterwards  put  himself  the  most  forwiiid  in  the 
business,  and  in  order  to  extricate  the  boat 
which  was  entangled  in  the  tree- top,  he  got 
hi*  feet  on  the  fore  part  of  the  gtmnel  of  the 
bo:it,  and  his  hands  against  the  tree-top  to 
push  off  the  boat,  when  on  a  sudden  the  boat 
went  off;  unable  to  spring  back  ir-to  the  boat, 
he  hung  over  the  water  with  his  hands  hold  of 
the  limbs ;  in  this  deplorable  state  he  called 
out  for  help.  With  one  of  cur  oars  broken 
and  rudder  shattered  to -pieces,  we  were  unable 
to  make  our  wav  back  to  him  against  the  tor- 
rent of  water  which  so  swiftly  set  us  down 
the  stream  •;  and  accordingly  we  proceeded  on 
our  voyage  with  the  other  blockhead  in  the 
boat.  There  appeared  a  special  providence 
in  the  sudden  destruction  of  this  wretched 
man  hanging  in  the  tree  ;  he  doubtless  held 
on  by  the  limbs  until  his  strength  was  so  ex- 
hausted that  he  was  too  weak  to  swim  against 
the  strong  current  of  the  river  and  perished  : 
I  have  remarked  that  sooner  or  later  my  ene- 
mies have  generally  seen  an  end  to  their  boast- 
ings ;  and  I  have  often  seen  them  fall  into  the 
sieves  uhich  they  have  spread  for  my  feet : 
for  iiiy  own  part,  I  have  endeavored  to  use  all 


173 

men  in  a  just  and  decent  manner,  and  those 
who  have  pat  themselves  forward  and  shewn 
themselves'  my  enemies,  have  been  prompted 
by  the  depraved  principles  which  those  char- 
acters only  possess  who  tread  on  the  liberties 
and  destroy  the  rights  of  the  stranger,  because 
he  has  no  protector.  Ye  sons  of  Belial !  and 
all  ye  flagrant  children  of  wickedness!  hear 
the  awful  warning  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Supreme  Judge,  who  rules  in  the  armies  of 
heaven  above,  and  amongst  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth  beneath  !  delivered  by  the  mouth  of 
his  holy  prophet  to  the  ancient  rebels  of  the 
house  of  Israel,  and  will  remain  in  force  to 
the  end  of  time  : — the  words  are  nearly  in 
this  form,  "  What  mean  ye,  that  ye  grind 
the  faces  of  the  poor,  and  turn  away  the  stran- 
ger from  his  right,  and  fear  not  me,  saith  the 
Lord  of  host."  Here  the  character  who  grinds 
the  faces  of  the  poor,  and  turns  away  the 
stranger  from  his  right,  are  denominated  char- 
acters which  are  devoid  of  the  fear  of  that 
God  who  rules  and  governs  all  rational  intel- 
ligences :  and  again,  those  who  have  any 
belief  in  the  scriptures,  would  do  well  to  re- 
member, that  to  this  character,  devoid  of  the 
fear  of  his  God,  is  united  several  other  traits 
of  character  of  the  darkest  hue  which  any 
man  of  sense  or  thought  would  tremble  to 
think  himself  related  to  ;  such  as,  first,  they 
walk  with  slanderers  ;  2nd  they  will  deceive 
every  one  his  neighbor,  and  will  not  speak 
the. truth  ;  3rd  they  have  bent  their  tongues 


179 

like  bows,  and  taught  them  to  speak  lies  and 
falsehood  ;  4th  they  weary  themselves  to  com- 
mit iniquity ;  5th  their  habitation  is  in  the 
midst  of  deceit;  6th  they  refuse  to  know  or 
hear  the  truth  ;  7th  their  tongue  is  an  arrow 
shot  out ;  8th  they  speak  peaceably  to  their 
neighbor  with  their  mouth,  but  in  heart  are 
spreading  snares  for  their  feet ;  9th  destruction 
and  misery  are  in  their  ways  ;  10th  their  feet 
are  swift  to  shed  blood,  as  is  above  related  ; 
llth  they  are  entire  strangers  to  peace  ;  12th 
there  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes ; — 
and  to  end  the  awful  and  solemn  catalogue, 
many  of  them  are  full  of  sin,  bond- slaves  of 
satan  !  and  led  captive  by  him  at  his  will,  into 
all  manner  of  wickedness  !  But  worse  than  all 
the  rest  for  the  poor  wretches,  they  are  threat- 
ned,  that  their  feet  shall  slide  in  due  time  ; 
when  they  shall  have  filled  up  the  measure  of 
their  iniquities,  then  their  destruction  shall 
come  upon  them  as  a  whirlwind,  and  they 
shall  not  escape ! 

I  believe,  that  I  have  given  a  general  por- 
trait of  the  character  of  these  two  wretches  ; 
and  whilst  I  am  writing,  mcthinks  I  see  one 
of  them  fall  into  the  passing  torrent  to  rise  no 
more ;  as  for  the  other  on  board  our  boat,  we 
then  threatened  him,  that  we  would  convey  him 
on  the  Natches,  and  there  have  him  tried  at 
the  court  appointed  for  the  trial  of  criminal 
causes.  He  feared  the  event,  and  leaped  out 
of  the  boat  into  the  river  ;  we  were  then  pass- 
ing a  point ;  he  swam  toward  it,  t:nd  we  saw 
the  less  criminal  wretch  arrive  safe  on  the  shore. 


ISO 

In  four  days  after  this  we  arrived  safe  at 
Hatches.  Our  friends  were  agreeably  disap- 
pointed at  our  having  made  such  a  short  and 
prosperous  voyage.  I  now  disposed  of  my 
little  cargo,  paid  off  my  hired  men  and  my 
creditors,  and  found  myself  possessed  of  six 
hundred  dollars  free  of  debt  and  of  every  in- 
cumbrance.  In  a  tew  days  I  took  my  depar- 
ture for  New- Orleans  :  this  was  on  the  2nd 
day  of  Nov.  1807.  Frocn  Matches,  New  Orleans 
lies  about  300  miles  down  the  Mississippi ; 
as  we  passed  down,  I  had  a  fine  opportunity 
to  view  the  country-seats  and  plantations  on 
each  side  the  river :  the  buildings,  extending 
along  the  sides  of  the  river  on  each  plantation 
are  very  elegant  and  handsome ;  the  planta- 
tions on  which  these  buildings  stand  are  beau- 
tiful and  the  houses  are  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  each  other  ;  they  are  handsome  and 
well  cultivated  ;  they  extend  into  the  interior 
of  the  country,  and  form  a  delightful  prospect 
from  the  river.  The  original  inhabitants  were 
from  Nova- Scotia  and  Germany;  the  former 
were  French,  driven  here  by  the  persecutions 
of  the  English  about  the  year  1755  ;  the  latter 
have  imbided  the  customs  and  language  of  the 
French. 

I  ought  not  to  omit  mentioning  a  singu- 
lar and  unfortunate  event  which  happened  at 
the  Matches  just  after  my  arrival  there  this  last 
time,  i.  e.  there  were  a  great  number  of  build- 
ings on  one  of  the  lower  streets,  next  to  the  wa- 
ter, (between  sixty  and  an  hundred)  the  ground 


181 

above  those  buildings  at  first  opened  about 
one  inch,  when  the  inhabitants  began  to  no- 
tice it ;  it  increased  still  wider  and  wider,  un- 
til it  was  opened  about  a  foot ;  the  people 
then  moved  their  goods  out  of  their  houses, 
moving  them  into  the  back  part  of  the  town  ; 
the  shore  part  adjacent  to  the  water  was  still 
sinking  down  under  the  water  by  slow  de- 
grees ;  and  by  slow  degrees,  the  large  crack 
in  the  ground  grew  too  wide  to  pass  over  ;  un- 
fortunately for  one  man,  who  was  a  barber, 
he  neglected  too  long  to  pass  the  line,  and 
was  carried  with  all  the  bivJdings  into  the  ri- 
ver. It  was  said,  the  sound  or  noise  of  the 
fall  when  these  buildings  were  precipitated 
into  the  river,  was  heard  at  a  distance  of  five 
miles.  It  was  afterwards  discovered,  that  a 
stream  of  water  had  made  its  way  underneath, 
and  washed  away  the  ground  on  that  side  next 
to  the  river  ;  the  heaviest  part  of  the  street  ly- 
ing over  toward  the  water  ;md  overbalancing 
the  other  part,  was  the  occasion  of  this  vast 
fall  of  buildings.  Some  have  attempted  to  ac- 
count for  this  extraordinary  phenomenon,  or 
remarkable  circumstance,  and  pretend,  that 
the  extraordinary  dissipation  of  the  inhabitants 
of  that  part  of  the  town  drew  from  the  hand  of 
providence  the  strange catastrophe !  Dissipation 
and  wickedness  will  surely  bring  judgments 
sooner  or  later,  but  yet  accidents  of;  en  happen 
to  the  j'ist  as  well  a-3  to  the  unjust ;  as  it  hap- 
peneth  to  the  good  man  so  it  happeneth  even 
10  the  fool  or  wicked  man,  saith  SoBfciion  ;  i.e. 


182 

the  conduct  of  providence  is  in  many  respects 
toward  all  men  alike ;  or,  we  are  not  able  to 
tell  in  this  world  the  good  from  the  bad  by 
their  prosperity ;  and  the  reason  is  given, 
namely,  that  man  may  live  by  faith  and  not  by 
sight.  It  seems  that  the  operations  of  the 
heart  are  secluded  from  the  world  in  impene- 
trable darkness.  But  the  ways  of  Providence 
are  often  incomprehensible. 

I  arrived  at  New  Orleans  on  the  22nd  day 
of  Nov.  1807.  This  was  now  the  third  time 
that  I  \isited  this  city.  On  my  arrival 
here,  I  was  informed  that  corn  was  very  high 
at  Pensacola ;  I  purchased  twelve  hundred 
bushels  for  that  market,  and  took  my  depar- 
ture with  it  from  New- Orleans  on  the  4th  day 
of  December ;  and  in  four  days  sail  I  landed 
safelv  with  my  corn  in  Pensacola.  Here  I 
sold  my  corn,  and  cleared  a  handsome  sum  of 
money  for  my  adventure.  Having  now,  for 
the  last  time,  visited  the  city  of  New- Orleans, 
I  shall  give  a  brief  description  of  it,  especially 
as  it  has  been  lately  ceded  to  the  United  States 
of  America  by  the  Spanish  Government. 
This  city  is  the  capital  of  Louisiana,  and 
this  place,  indeed,  with  the  whole  of  the  Lou- 
isiana Territory,  was  sold  to  the  American 
government  for  fifteen  millions  of  dollars, 
This  large  and  extensive  country  lies  West 
of  the  Mississippi ;  being  bounded  on  the 
South  by  the  Gulph  of  Mexico  ;  on  the  East 
by  the  Mississippi ;  on  the  North  by  unknown 
lands  ;  awd  on  the  West  by  New-Mexico. 


There  are  several  rivers  in  this  country,  the 
chief  of  which  are  the  Natchitoches  and  the 
Mexicano  rivers ;  at  the  wet  season  of  the 
year,  when  the  Mississippi  rises  high,  the 
waters  pass  over  a  large  tract  of  land  West  of 
New- Orleans,  and  form  this  small  city  into  an 
island  ;  it  is  across ^these  low  grounds,  on  the 
West  side  principally,  that  the  vast  quantity 
of  surplus  waters,  which  flow  into  the  Missis- 
sippi above,  are  discharged  ;  the  channel  of 
that  river  alone,  which  is  upon  an  average  not 
more  than  three  fourths  of  a  mile  wide,  could 
not  vent  the  fiftieth  part  of  these  surplus  wa- 
ters, if  it  was  not  conveyed  over  these  low 
grounds,  through  ten  thousand  channels,  to- 
wards lake  Barataria  and  other  lakes  on  the 
North  coast  of  the  Gulph  of  Mexico  and  St. 
Bernard's  Fay,  and  others  towards  the  confines 
of  Mexico,  which  makes  all  the  country  to  the 
West  and  South  of  the  Mississippi,  a  low,  un- 
inhabited country  for  many  hundred  miles  up  ; 
and  what  is  worse,  all  the  labor  and  art  of  man 
cannot  prevent  it. 

The  Mississippi  is  the  principal  river  of 
Louisiana,  and  the  largest  in  the  United 
States.  It  rises  in  White  Bear  lake,  lat.  48 
deg.  15  min.  N.  Its  course  is  southerly,  and 
its  tributary  streams  large  and  numerous.  In 
lat.  37  deg.  N.  long.  5  h.  55  min.  38  sec.  \V. 
from  Greenwich,  it  receives  the  Ohio,  a  noble 
river,  1188  miles  long.  The  confluence  o 
these  two  mighty  rivers,  does  not  present  a 
scene  grand  or  romantic,  The-  country  is 


184 

level,  and  the  prospect  of  their  union' 5s- not 
different  from  the  meeting  of  sounds  or  rivers 
on  the  sea-coast.  These  rivers  unite  in  that 
immense  swamp  through  which  the  Missis* 
Sip---i  passes  into  the  GuJph  of  Mexico.  This 
swmp  extends  frora  the  high  lands  in  the* 
United  States,  to  the  high  lands  in  Louisiana, 
through  different  parts  of  which  the  river  has 
had  its  course  at  different  times.  It  is  gene- 
rally from  36  to  45  miles  wide,  and  at  every 
inundation  is  many  feet  under  water;  the 
greater  part  of  it  being  on  the  West  side  of 
the  river.  From  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  to 
the  southern  line  of  the  United  States  there 
are  but  two  or  three  places  not  covered  with 
water  a  part  of  every  year,  and  those  for  a 
time  are  annually  inundated.  On  the  east  side: 
are  eleven  places  elevated  above  the  highest 
floods.  Like  the  Nile,  and  all  rivers  subject 
to  inundation,  the  banks  are -higher  on  the 
margin  of  the  river  than  at  a  distance  from 
them.  Those  swamps  and  lakes  which  com- 
municate immediately  with  the  Golph  of  Mex- 
ico, never  become  full,  consequently  streams 
run  from  the  Mississippi  into  them  till  its  wa- 
ters fall.  On  these  periodical  and  temporary 
streams  valuable  saw-mills  are  erected  in  the 
vicinity  of  New- Orleans.  On  the  low  back 
swamp,  something  of  the  above  description,  is 
the  place  where  I  lost  myi-exct  ilent  and  highly 
valued  horse  as  aforementioned. 

New- Orleans  is  an  inland  city,  and  is  about 
100  miks  from  the  mouth  of  the  .Mississippi, 


185 

the  only  way  of  access  to  it ;  this  city  lies  in  a 
very  advantageous  situation,  and  pro  r- uses  to 
become  a  place  of  great  commerce  :  it  con-^ 
tained,  in  1804.  about  8000  inhabitants,  of 
French.  Spanish  and  slaves  ;  but  since  that 
time,  it  having  been  ceded  to  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  its  population  has  been 
rapidly  increasing  ;  it  is  now  a  fair  and  popu- 
lous city,  or  was  at  the  time  I  was  there  ;  the 
increase  since  must  have  been  very  great. 
The  number  of  houses  in  New  Orleans,  is 
greater  in  proportion  to  its  number  of  inhab- 
itants than  any  other  city  in  the  United  States 
of  America ;  this  is  chiefly  owing  to  their 
having  mostly  been  built  but  one  story  high, 
and  consequently  will  not,  according  to  their 
number,  contain  more  than  half  as  many  per- 
fions  in  each  house.  It  contains  about  3000 
houses,  and  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand 
inhabitants  ;  thus  the  number  of  houses  in  thk 
city  are  half  equal  to  those  of  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia, but  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  the 
latter  would  amount  to  that  of  three  to  one  of 
the  former.  The  greatest  inconvenience  with 
the  inhabitants  of  New  Orleans  is  the  impure 
state  of  the  water  ;  but  still  this  inconvenience 
is  in  a  great  measure  made  up  by  the  mode 
which  they  have  invented  te  purify  the  waters 
of  the  river,  which  3  >\vs  from  and  is  the  same 
with  those  of  the  Mississip'pi ;  the  mode  ol; 
purification  is  in  the  following  manner  :  they 
tike  about  twenty  gallons  of  the  water  and 
four  it  into  a  large  cask  which  is  prepared  for 
9.  2 


185 

the  purpose,  having  a  sufficient  bed  of  sand 
oi'a  clean  white  kind  placed  in  the  bottom  <>i 
it,  through  which  the  water  makes  its  wav  by 
slow  degrees,  drop  after  drop  ;  these  waters 
then  are  of  a  cold  and  medicinal  nature  ;  any 
other  water  but  this  of  the  Mississippi,  put  in 
the  same  state  of  purification,  will  immediately 
grow  flat  and  unsavory  ;  but  this  is,  when  pu- 
rified, as  clear  as  crystal,  and  will  keep  pure 
and  cold  a  long  time. 

The  religion  of  the  inhabitants  is  chiefly 
Roman  catholic,  and  the  morals  of  the  people 
consequently  of  a  dissipated  cast,  like  those 
of  Vera  Cruz  and  New-Mtxico  in  general. 

The  animal  productions  are  much  like  those 
found  in  the  uncultivated  parts  of  the  southern 
states ;  and  with  cultivation  the  land  will  yield 
all  the  various  productions  in  their  greatest 
perfection,  which  are  found  either  in  the  most 
southerly  parts  of  the  United  States,  or  the 
West- Indies.  Its  timber  is  excellent  and 
abundant.  The  climate  in  New- Orleans  or 
Louisiana  is  very  changeable  ;  in  summer  it 
is  regularly  hot.  In  the  latitude  of  the  Natches 
Farenheit's  thermometer  ranges  from  17  to 
96  deg. ;  the  average  degree  of  heat  is  stated 
to  be  14  deg.  greater  than  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  climate  of  Louisiana  varies  as  it  extends 
northward ;  its  southern  parts  are  not  subject 
to  such  degrees  of  heat  as  the  same  latitudes 
in  Africa  or  some  other  parts  of  the  world, 
nor  its  northern  parts  the  same  degree  of  cold 
as  the  corresponding  latitudes  in  Europe, 


187 

<nving  to  the  thick  woods  which  cover  the 
country  and  to  the  great  number  01  rivers 
which  intersect  it ;  the  former  prevent  the  sun 
from  scorching  the  earth,  the  latter  cause  a 
grtrat  degree  of  humidity  which  softens  the 
air  and  prevents  extreme  cold.  The  prevail- 
ing  diseases  on  the  lower  part  of  the  Ohio,  on 
the  Mississippi,  and  through  the  Floridas,  are 
bilious  fevers.  In  some  seasons  they  are 
mad,  and  are  little  more  than  common  inter- 
miUents  ;  in  others  they  are  highly  malignant, 
and  approach  the  genuine  yellow  fever  in  the 
West-Indies.  The  inhabitants  oi  New-Orleans 
are  many  of  them  English  and  Americans, 
yet  there  are  a  mixture  of  French,  Germans 
and  Spaniards,  although  they  are  mostly 
French  inhabitants.  This  country  is  not  well 
suited  to  the  health  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
eastern  states  of  North- America,  and  those 
...who  have  emigrated  from  these  eastern  states, 
have  in  general  experienced  a  decline  of  health 
and  constitution,  unless  great  care  and  a  crit- 
ical degree  of  temperance  prevent. 

But  to  return  to  my  voyage  at  Pensacola. 
I  observed  that  I  cleared  a  handsome  sum 
for  my  adventure  ;  a  few  hundred  dollars  was 
the  reward  of  this  speculation  :  from  this  place 
I  commenced  travelling  on  the  1 5th  day  of 
December  1807,  and  steered  my  course  di- 
rect for  the  Mobile  by  land :  towards  night 
I  put  up  at  a  respectable  looking  tavern,  and 
desired  entertainment ;  but  by  enquiry,  found 
iliac  the  landlord  and  his  lady  both  were  ab- 


188 

sent,  and  that  tlie  two  young  ladies  who  were 
in  the  house,  had  the  charge  of  it  whilst  *\e 
host  was  from  home.  I  desired  entertain- 
ment, but  on  the  aforesaid  account  was  refus- 
ed ;  however,  on  a  second  consideration,  was 
admitted  ;  after  an  agreeable  evening  in  con- 
versation was  passed  oft*,  I  retired  to  my 
lodging,  being  tired  with  my  fatigue  ;  I  was 
prevented  from  sleep  as  early  as  usual,  and 
by  musing  on  my  intended  journey,  lay  wake- 
ful until  after  midnight :  at  this  time  I  heard 
a  person  and  saw  a  light  enter  the  outer 
door,  through  a  shattered  part  of  the  door 
which  entered  my  room.  I  cast  my  eyes  and 
saw  a  person  with  a  lighted  candle  in  his 
hand,  apparently  painted  black  ;  he  proceeded 
straight  forward,  and  went  up  the  stairs  into 
the  chamber,  as  I  supposed,  to  the  room  where 
the  young  ladies  were  in  bed :  his  being  paint- 
ed, or  else  a  real  black  man,  his  having  laid 
off  his  shoes  and  going  softly  up  the  chamber 
stairs,  all  strongly  prognosticated  some  alarm- 
ing event  soon  to  follow  ;  my  suspicions  were 
not  ill  founded,  for  in  a  few  minutes  afterwards; 
I  heard  cries  for  help,  and  the  most  mournful 
entreaties  ensued !  At  this  alarming  crisis, 
the  floor  over  my  head  gave  a  passage  to  the 
blood  of  the  murdered  innocents  !  and  arising 
in  great  surprise  out  of  mv  bed,  I  took  my 
clothes  in  my  hand,  made  my  way  to  the  door 
of  the  house,  and  from  thence  to  a  neighbor- 
ing family,  and  related  the  awful  circumstance! 
Tliis  house  was  about  one  hundred  rods 


189 

tant  from  the  inn :  in  the  house  I  found  an  okt 
woman,  two  young  men  and  two  young  wo-' 
men  :  the  young  people  were  sitting  up,  and 
appeared  to  have  been  passing  away  a  few 
hours  in  social  conversation.  I  entered  the 
house  in  haste  and  consternation,  and  quickly- 
related  the  dreadful  circumstance.  On  my 
first  entering  the  house,  they  looked  at  each 
other  and  smiled  at  my  odd  appearance,  as  I 
had  my  clothes  in  my  hand,  but  soon  altered 
their  tone,  and  the  old  woman,  bursting  out 
with  an  uncommon  noise  and  anxiety,  and 
with  her  hands  over  her  head,  cried  out,  O 
Lord,  my  husband  has  murdered  these  two 
cousins  of  ours,,  as  he  told  me  he  would,  in 
order  to  get  their  share  of  the  property,  thr,t 
it  may  fall  to  our  children!  Immediately 
after  she  uttered  these  words,  she  fell  into 
the  arms  of  the  young  ladies,  her  two  daugh- 
ters.' Upon  this,  ihe  two  young  men  following 
me,  we  soon  arrived  at  the  inn  where  the 
dreadful  murder  was  done. 

On  our  entering  the  house,  we  found  the 
murderer  with  his  hands  and  garments  cov- 
ered with  blood !  When  he  first  discovered 
us,  •  he  endeavoured  to  make  his  escape  ;  but 
with  activity  and  superior  strength,  we  secured 
him.  We  then  went  to  the  chamber  where 
the  two  young  ladies  lay  in  bed,  and  found 
their  throats  cut  from  ear  to  ear  in  a  most 
shocking  manner  !  We  immediately  charged 
the  guilty  wretch  with  the  murder,  upon 
which  he  made  a  candid  confession  of  the 


190 

Whole  ;  he  said  that  he  had  committed  this  hor- 
rid murder  on  the  two  young  women  in  order 
that  his  children  might  be  possessed  of  their 
property  ;  for  by  the  laws  of  the  country  therej 
the  property  would  have  fallen  to  the  children 
of  this  murderer  on  the  decease  of  the  two 
murdered  young  ladies.  We  bound  the  wretch- 
ed and  miserable  man,  hand  and  foot,  and  con- 
veyed him  to  the  first  justice  at  hand,  who 
committed  him  to  close  custody.  The  next 
day  we  all  were  called  before  a  jury  of  inquisi- 
tion to  give  in  our  evidences  concerning  the 
horrid  deed.  Whilst  I  was  before  the  jury, 
I  took  particular  notice  of  a  tall  man  of  a  dark 
complexion  who  was  present ;  he  cast  on  me 
a  look  of  disdain  and  revenge  several  times, 
and  treated  me  with  the  utmost  contempt : 
some  of  those  who  stood  by,  informed  me 
that  he  was  the  brother  of  the  murderer. 

The  next  day  I  proceeded  on  my  journey  to- 
wards the  Mobile  ;  this  fellow,  as  I  was  after- 
wards informed,  took  his  start  of  me  some 
time  beforehand,  and  went  the  same  way. 
When  1  had  proceeded  on  my  journey  about 
two  or  three  miles,  and  where  there  was  no 
buildings,  in  a  lonely  place,  I  saw  this  man 
just  by  me,  he  very  suddenly  started  from  be- 
hind a  tree,  muttering  and  saying  that  1  should 
be  paid  well  for  the  part  which  I  had  acted : 
he  then  stepped  just  before  me,  and  with  an- 
gry savage  looks,  he  lifted  his  hand  to  Strike 
me,  but  the  ground  being  sandy  I  made  a  has- 
ty retreat ;  pretending  that  I  had  dropped  my 


191 

walking  stick,  (for  I  was  on  foot),  I  took  up 
with  my  left  hand  a  handful  of  sand,  and 
threw  it  suddenly  into  his  face  ;  this  answered 
well  my  intended  purpose  for  this  man  was  tall 
and  strong,  and  was  able  in  ten  minutes  time 
to  destroy  me  ;  the  sand,  however,  blinded  his 
eyes ;  he  now  had  enough  to  do  to  rub  them, 
and  whilst  this  took  up  some  of  his  attention  I 
gave  him  two  or  three  strokes  on  his  legs,  at 
which  he  fell  down,  and  being  blinded  en- 
tirely, he  knew  not  where  to  find  his  antago- 
nist. I  kept  out  of  his  reach,  excepting  at 
times  I  drew  up  towards  him,  and  in  order  to 
prevent  him  from  raising  gave  him  a  few  blows 
over  the  head  .and  face  with  my  staff;  finding 
himself  so  unexpectedly  worsted,  he  cried  out 
for  mercy.  At  this  critical  moment,  the  two 
young  men  who  were  my  fellow-witnesses 
came  up  to  us,  and  enquired  into  the  cause  of 
the  affray ;  instantly  I  gave  them  an  account 
of  the  particulars,  and  that  I  was  in  danger  of 
my  life,  had  not  fortune  favored  me  when  I 
threw  the  sand  in  his  face ;  they  expressed 
their  joy  and  satisfaction  at  my  fortunate  and 
unexpected  conquest,  whilst  the  miserable 
wretch  was  ashamed  as  a  thief  is  ashamed  when 
he  is  taken  in  his  theft.  These  two  young 
gentlemen  invited  me  to  return  with  them,  and 
tarry  with  the  family  until  the  two  young  wo- 
men should  be  interred.  I  accepted  of  their 
invitation,  and  returned  and  tarried  until  the 
funeral  was  over,  and  then  took  my  departure 


192 

ibr  the  Mobile,  where  I  arrived  on  the  16th 
of  Jan.  1808. 

Here  I  bought  one  thousand  dollars  worth 
of  corn,  and  a  few  articles  of  merchandise, 
and  proceeded  up  the  lake  called  the  Mobile, 
or  the  bay  of  Mobile.  The  Mobile  is  a  com- 
mercial village ;  by  the  bay  it  has  a  free  trade 
both  at  sea  and  into  the  interior  of  the  country  ; 
but  as  1  have  given  my  subscribers  reason  to 
expect  a  narrative  of  my  travels,  they  will  not 
expect  me  to  entertain  them  with  things  quite 
foreign  from  the  chief  object  in  view.  Should 
I  give  an  account  of  every  tiling  which  I  have 
seen  and  heard  of  that  was  peculiar  in  these 
travels,  it  would  make  a  volume  of  two  thou- 
sand pages,  instead  of  two  hundred,  as  I  pro- 
mised them.  To  return  once  more ;  I  ship- 
ped my  corn  on  board  of  a  French  armed 
schooner ;  she  was  going  directly  to  Pensa- 
cola,  where  I  had  determined  to  carry  my 
corn,  and  from  thence  elsewhere.  When  we 
had  been  about  one  day  out  we  were  attacked 
by  an  English  privateer ;  the  English  captain, 
seeing  us  in  a  schooner  of  about  12  guns, 
thought  that  his  demand  was  capture,  and  or- 
dered us  to  strike  our  colours ;  this  was  an- 
swered by  a  broadside  from  us  and  an  imme- 
diate and  a  hot  engagement  tooj^place.  Many 
were  killed  on  both  sides,  but  our  decks  were 
soon  covered  with  the  dead  !  and  our  captain, 
despairing  of  conquest,  thought  best  to  abate 
the  fury  of  the  battle  ;  this,  however,  only 
eacou raged  the  enemy,  and  they  boarded  us. 


193 

Now  the  work  was  still  more  serious,  and  our 
men  resisted  in  close  quarters.  The  carnage 
was  dreadful !  We  were  soon  forced  to  yield 
to  superior  force,  and  resigned  the  vessel. 
And  now,  when  the  enemy  had  taken  all  our 
cargo,  and  made  us  all  prisoners  of  war, 
brought  us  out  of  the  lake  to  sea,  and  bent 
their  course  for  England,  I  was  in  a  distress- 
ed condition  !  The  last  cent  of  my  property 
was  taken  from  me  by  the  enemy,  and  myself 
a  close  prisoner  of  war !  My  prospect  was 
disagreeable  in  the  extreme ;  I  might  pos- 
sibly be  exchanged  but  perhaps  my  property 
was  inevitably  lost !  although  I  was  only  a  pas- 
senger. If  this  should  be  the  case,  as  by  appear- 
ances I  concluded  that  it  would  be,  I  had  no 
other  view,  but  to  relieve  myself  from  slavery, 
by  fleeing  as  soon  as  possible  to  Germany,  to 
the  protection  of  my  brother  George  ;  for  Eng- 
land [is  a  place,  where  the  poor  grow  still 
poorer,  and  the  prospect  of  rising  any  other 
way  than  this,  would  be  entirely  without  pro- 
bability ;  but  this  degree  of  humiliation  it  was 
not  in  my  power  to  obtain ;  I  therefore  con- 
templated my  sufferings  in  the  most  discou- 
raging form,  and  reluctantly  sailed  o'er  the 
tempestuous  waters  ! 

I    was  contemplating    in    silent    grief   and. 
perplexed    thought ;    I   looked    and  saw    the 
captain,  wir'i  the  glass  in  his  hand,  and  imme- 
diately the  form  of  his  countenance  was  clu- 
ed !     With  an  agitated  appearance  he  sp» 
ne  of  his   officers  exposing  his  fears  tl 
R 


194 

un  enemy  was  near  at  hand !  He  was  soon 
surrounded  with  his  officers  in  council.  In 
about  one  hour  the  enemy,  a  Spanish  frigate, 
came  up,  and  our  captain  commanded  him  to 
strike  his  colours.  The  Spanish  commander 
potired  in  a  full  broad  side  upon  us,  as  he 
probably  deemed  it  the  most  effectual  answer 
lo  the  insulting  demand*  The  vessel  was  of 
much  larger  force  than  that  of  the  British > 
nevertheless  the  British  engaged  her  with  all 
fury  :  upon  the  second  fire  of  the  Spanish  fri- 
gate, we  lost  one  of  our  masts,  and  soon  after 
they  shot  away  the  other :  we  were  entirely 
dismasted  now,  and  the  captain  compelled  to 
strike  his  colours  to  the  Spanish  commander, 
who  made  us  all  prisoners  of  war ! 

I  did  not  know  how  the  Spanish  would  use 
their  prisoners,  and  feared  that  fortune  had 
given  me  a  disadvantageous  change  ;  but  on 
;i  second  consideration,  finding  myself  about 
to  be  carried  to  a  rich  country,  where,  if  I 
gained -my  liberty,  which  it  was  probable  that 
I  soon  should,  there  was  a  greater  probability 
of  rising  to  respectability  and  property,  from 
these  considerations  I  began  to  feel  more  re- 
conciled. In- a  short  time  the  Spanish  com- 
mander came  forth  to  examine  and  take  a 
view  of  the  prisoners,  and  looking  me  full  in 
the  face,  spoke  in  a  friendly,  affable,  and  cour- 
teous manner  to  me,  and  finding  out  my  name, 
said,  that  he  knew  me  perfectly  well,  arid  had 
-(he  pleasure  of  my  acquaintance  when  I  was 
:  nublic  actor  in  the  Havanna.  This  was  of 


195 

singular  importance  to  me,  as  will  hereafter  be 
seen.  My  passage  was  now  very  agreeable, 
as  the  captain  treated  me  with  the  greatest 
respect  and  generosity  :  we  soon  arrived  at 
the  Havanna,  where  I  was  set  at  full  liberty, 
and  by  the  influence  of  this  gentleman  my 
property  was  all  restored  to  me. 

Here  I  had  the  plcasmc  of  paying  a  new 
visit  to  ir.y  old  friends  and  acquaintance,  es- 
pecially the  Governor  and  nobility,  who  were 
my  patrons  on  former  occasions  ;  they  all  re- 
ceived me  very  kindly,  and  in  particular  the 
Governor  ;  arid  when  I  informed  the  Gover- 
nor of  the  manner  in  which  I  came  there,  and 
the  stock  of  goods  which  I  had  to  dispose  of, 
he  seemed  much  pleased  with  my  good  for- 
tune, especially  with  my  having  turned  trader 
and  left  the  profession  of  actor.  I  received 
invitations  from  several  of  the  nobility  to  pay 
them  visits,  and  tarry  with  them  a  day  or 
two ;  to  some  of  which  I  consented.  I  dis- 
posed of  my  little  cargo  and  purchased  coffee, 
sugar,  &c  '/and  on  the  Sdi  day  of  May  1808, 
took  rny  departure  for  Pensacola ;  at  which 
place  I  arrived  in  good  spirits  on  the  26th. 
Here  I  sold  my  coffee  and  sugar  for  cash  in 
hand,  and  to  great  advantage. 

On  the  2nd  day  of  June  I  left  this  place 
with  five  in  company.  Soon  after  we  left 
Pensacola,  we  overtook  a  post- rider,  and  re- 
quested him  to  keep  .company  with  us  in  order 
to  guide  us,  especially  as  he  was  acquainted 
with  the  road.;  and  in  return,  promised  t$ 


196      - 

bear  part  of  his  expenses  of  travelling.  To 
thu  h_  coris"ntfd,  and  we  travelled  five  days 
without  meeting  with  any  thing  material  worth 
rehling,  excepting  that  the  Indians  would  of- 
ten draw  near  and  round  about  us  at  time  of 
mrais.  These  poor  creatures,  living  nearly 
exhausted  and  deprived  of  food,  like  the  wild 
beast  of  the  forest,  they  are  at  times  ravenous, 
A  consideration  naturally  falls  in  here,  of  the 
Supreme  Benefactor  of  men  toward  the  white 
people,  who  have  the  privileges  of  civilization 
and  education,  who  have  that  kind  of  religion 
which  teaches  them,  not  the  principles  of  the 
heathen  savage  tribes,  to  obey  the  dictates  of 
depraved  passions  ;  but  that  teaches  them  to 
improve  the  full  exercise  of  their  abilities  in 
a  manner  which  raises  them  to  a  state  of  com- 
fortable subsistence,  where  every  necessary 
want  is  supplied,  and  where  faculties  and 
abilities  arc  improved  in  preparation  for  a  fu- 
ture and  perfect  state  of  enjoyment  hereafter. 

0  thou  preserver  and  disposer  of  men  !   what 
Lv.-e  I  rendered  to  thee,    for  all  thy   mercies 
and    benefits    shewn    to    me  !     Although    I 
have  from  time  to  time  been  delivered  from 
imprisonments  and  death  !  yet  how  unthank- 
ful !  how  much  like  the  hardened  Israelites, 
have  I  buried  thy  mercies  in  forgetfulness  ! 

1  am  yet  alive,  and  still  have  the  prospect  be- 
fore me  of  being  useful  and  living  happy  and 
joyful  amongst  my  friends  in  the  world  ;    and 
my  chief  concern s.w ill,  or  doubtless  ought  to 
be,  to  live  and  feel  myself  thankful  to  that 


197 

divine  and'  gracious  providence  which  has 
granted  me  suck  great  and  unparalleled 
favors  ! 

On  the  sixth  day  there  fell  a  considerable 
rain,  and  it  continued  raining  seven  days  suc- 
cessively :  as  we  pursued  our  journey,  we 
found  the  creeks  and  small  passages,  bridges 
and  rivulets  entirely  overflown,  and  we  were 
compelled  to  swim  our  horses  two  or  three 
times  a  day,  for  five  days  successively  ;  we 
travelled  in  this  storm  through  necessity,  when 
at  length  we  came  to  a  large  creek  ;  our  guide 
told  us  that  it  was  the  last  and  most  difficult 
to  pass  ;  when  we  came  near,  we  found  the 
adjacent  grounds  so  overflown,  that  it  struck 
terror  into  the  most  bold  and  daring  amongst 
us.  On  taking  a  full  view  we  all  judged  it 
impossible  to  cross  without  endangering  life 
in  the  most  imminent  degree,  and  according- 
ly retreated  to  some  distance  and  encamped. 
We  remained  here  about  twenty-four  hours, 
when  our  provisions  began  to  fail  us  :  during 
our  encampment  the  rains  fell  in  great  abuncU 
ance ;  it  also  thundered  in  the  most  tremen- 
dous manner  !  We  were  all  now  ready  to 
exclaim,  vain  and  feeble  are  the  efforts  of 
man  !  I  call  it  an  encampment ;  but  it  was 
under  a  large  tree,  where  the  wind  and  rains 
kept  us  from  any  kind  of  repose.  In  this 
situation,  James  Lewis,  one  of  pur  company, 
began  to  rail  and  blaspheme  even  against  hea- 
ven !  The  rains,  thunders  and  lightnings  were 
his  .pretence  for  his  blasphemy  !  We  all  en- 

H.'2 


•>*<**•     193 

tleavored  to  pacify  him,  but  all  in  vain  !  I 
then  left  the  company,  and  took  up  my  lodg- 
ing in  the  crutch  of  a  tree  at  a  small  distance 
from  them,  lest  his  presumptuous  blasphemies 
might  draw  down  vengeance  !  As  the  water 
under  this  tree  was  ancle  deep,  it  might  ap- 
pear almost  impossible  for  a  person  to  slumber 
here,  yet  I  really  did,  owing  to  being  so  depriv- 
ed of  rest  on  the  night  before  ;  but  a  sudden 
shock  of  thunder  and  lightning,  striking  close 
by,  awaked  me  perfectly,  and  so  affrighted 
me,  being  sudden  and  unexpected,  that  1  fell 
on  the  ground !  In  the  same  thunder- bolt,  a 
splinter  from  an  adjacent  tree  struck  Lewis 
in  the  arm  and  broke  it ;  having  some  medi- 
cines by  me,  I  bound  up  his  arm  as  well  as 
I  could.  The  rain  continued  to  fall,  and 
having  no  prospect  of  bettering  our  condition, 
we  with  one  consent  resolved  the  next  morn- 
ing on  crossing  the  creek,  be  the  event  what 
it  would. 

Accordingly  we  set  out,  and  came  to  the 
creek,  and  being  very  much  surprised  at  the 
height  of  the  water,  we  requested  the  post- 
rider  to  enter  first ;  which  he  was  obliged 
Immediately  to  agree  to  ;  and  accordingly  he 
entered  on  the  dubious  and  melancholy  task  ! 
We  followed  him  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
until  we  arrived  at  the  bank  on  the  other 
side  of  the  overflowing  waters.  When  we 
were  on  this  bank,  we  held  a  council  on  our 
horses  ;  the  horses  were  weary  and  up  to  their 
necks  in  waier  on  the  bank,  for  the  freshe* 


19$ 

Was  over  the  bank.  Our  leader  told  us  that 
ti  e  was  a  log  just  below  us,  which  was  the 
p  vcr  the  creek.  We  had  an  idea  of 

s  i .'Timing1  our  horses  across  the  creek,  but 
ti.  stream  set  down  so  strong  and  with  such 
a  mighty  current,  that  we  were  doubtful  oF 
the  consequences  ;  our  horses  were  full  weary 
of  swimming,  for  we  hud  now  swam  them' 
nearly  one  hundred  rods  already,  and  th& 
strength  of  the  poor  creatures  appeared  to 
be  nearly  exhausted  ;  we  were,  therefore, 
afraid  t  >  venture  ourselves  on  their  backs 
across  this  rapid  and  furious  stream.  The 
post- rider,  who  had  been  in  the  path  before, 
was  now  nearly  as  much  at  a  stand  to  tell 
wh  it  to  do  as  ourselves  ;  but  eventually  we 
all  concluded  that  our  horses  were  too  weak 
ever  to  swim  back  with  us,  and  too  weak  to 
carry  us  over  the  stream.  Nothing  now  re- 
mained, but  that  we  get  off  of  our  horses,  take 
off  our  saddles  and  portmanteaus,  and  send 
the  horses  over  the  stream  without  us,  whilst 
we  would  endeavor  to  find  the  log  or  string- 
piece  crossing  below.  We  now  dismounted, 
and  standing  up  to  our  breasts  in  water,  we 
took  off  the  loud  from  the  horses,  and  let  them 
go  over  at  the  fording-place.  Whilst  we  held 
.council  on  our  horses  the  post-rider,  our 
g  de,  observed,  that  by  the  looks  of  the 
r.  T  below,  (die  trees  being  his  way  mark), 
the  log  appeared  to  be  overflown,  yet  said 
t :.  i  he  thought  it.  safer  to  try  to  pass  the  log, 
tuan  by  swimming  ..the- horses.;,  accordingly^ 


200 

we  proceeded  down  the  bank,  with  our  guide 
before  us*;  in  search  of  the  log".  As  we  drew 
near,  the  post- rider  supposed  that  the  log 
was  overflown  five  or  six  feet,  but  on  exam- 
ination we  found  u  but  three  feet  under  water ; 
the  current  setting  down  vehemently,  his  heart 
failed  him,  and  he  petitioned  to  the  company 
to  take  the  lead,  saying,  that  there  was  no 
gfeat  danger,  as  the  log  was  fastened,  being 
well  fixed  between  two  trees  at  each  end,  and 
that  it  was  about  two  feet  wide  :  however,  all 
hearts  failed  them,  and  we  were  obliged  to 
draw  lots  to  make  a  captain  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  dangerous  enterprise  !  On 
easting  lots  it  fell  on  me  to  go  forward,  and 
seeing  nothing  in  my  opinion  but  a  great  pro- 
bability of  death  before  me,  I  cut  me  a  staff, 
and  turning  myself  round  to  my  companions^ 
said  to  them  one  and  all,  these  rolling  and 
majestic  floods  appear  to  threaten  us  with  im- 
mediate death  !  and  call  us  to  prepare  our- 
selves for  the  awful  event  !  we  are  here,  far 
distant  from  any  possible  assistance  from  the 
arm  of  flesh,  and  as  the  waters  will  probably 
be  rising  after  the  rains,  we  must  now  im- 
mediately (if  ever)  make  our  escape ;  it  is  a 
serious  time,  and  we  have  all  need  to  call  on 
the  God  of  all  grace,  and  implore  his  assist- 
ance to  help  us  to  perform  the  dangerous 
and  melancholy  task !  Eternity  appeared  to 
us  all  (I  believe)  in  a  serious  point  of  light  ! 
The  desponding  travellers  turned  their  des- 
ponding eyes  one  upon  another  ]  in  their  looks 


201 

I  saw  the  important  question,  what  shall  we 
do  ?  who  shall  save  us  ?  We  were  all  stand- 
ing1 up  to  our  arms  in  water,  with  our  saddles, 
portmanteaus  and  bridles  on  our  backs  ;  it 
was  not  more  than  four  rods  across  the  creek, 
which  was  now  risen  to  a  river  and  Covered 
the  whole  ground  and  meadows  about  th^e 
Feet  deep,  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  beyond 
it.  I  tojd  him  that  we  must  either  cross  over 
or  perish,  and  we  could  not  but  perish  in 
passing  over,  therefore  we  must  try.  I  then 
with  my  small  staff  stepped  upon  the  end  of  the 
log ;  the  possibility  of  crossing  to  the  other  side 
appeared  extremely  doubtful,  and  we  were 
all  of  us.  almost  in  despair.  I  now  saw  the 
necessity  of  trying  to  pray  to  that  God,  who  I 
believed  was  able  to  save  ;  and  stepping  upori 
the  end  of  the  log,  begun  to  exhort  my  com* 
panions,  in  feeling  and  moving  lines  to  prepare 
for  death  !  after  which,  I  made  my  petition  to 
heaven  in  the  following  manner  : 

"  O  thou  great  and  glorious  God  !  thou  art 
all  wise,  powerful  and  merciful,  and  thou  :\rt 
infinite  in  all  thy  perfections  !  thou  art  that 
God,  who  art  merciful  arid  full  of  goodness  ; 
we  are  in  a  lamentable  and  distressed  situation  ! 
eternity  is  before  us  I  and  we  know  not  what 
to  do  !  it  appears  that  in  a  short  time,  we 
must  all  give  an  account  before  the  awful 
seat  of  judgment,  for  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body  !  and  what  shall  we  say  to  thc^e,  O  thou 
preserver  of  men  !  Thou  hast  made  u^  £u,d 
not  we  ourselves,  we  are  the  creatures  of  thy 


202 

power,  and  our  situation  and  distress  forces 
us  to  call  aloud  to  thee  for  thine  assistance  ; 
we  are  shut  up,  and  the  arm  of  flesh  cannot 
save  us  ;  to  go  backwards  we  cannot,  and  to 
go  forward  we  dare  not,  as  it  seems  immediate 
death  !  surely,  unless  a  miracle  of  thy  power 
prevent,  we  shall  all  be  swept  away  into  a 
dismal,  watery  grave  !  but  if  it  can  be  consist- 
ent with  the  dispensations  of  thy  grace  to  grant 
us  the  assistance  of  thy  gracious  providence, 
to  prolong  our  lives  and  save  us  from  the 
impending  destruction  which  threatens  us  ! 
we  hope  to  spend  them  in  thy  fear:  but,  if 
otherwise  thou  hast  determined,  may  we  all 
receive  that  grace  to  prepare  us  for  death, 
which  will  be  necessary  to  prepare  us  for  thy 
peaceable  and  everlasting  kingdom  ! 

It  would  be  impossible  here  to  describe  the 
dismal  situation  which  we  were  in  !  Indeed 
I  have  given  but  a  faint  shadow,  and  words 
cannot  express  the  affecting  and  terrific  scene 
which  now  passed  before  us.  The  short  pe- 
tition now  published,  is  but  a  very  short  and 
concise  piece,  when  compared  to  the  great 
reality  :  it  was  the  greatest  trial,  and  I  saw 
the  eternal  world  nearer  to  me,  than  ever  I 
did  either  before  or  since  that  time ;  for  des- 
truction appeared  almost  inevitable  !  just  as 
I  ended  my  prayer,  I  looked  up  and  saw  my 
horse  struggling  and  floating  down  over  the 
log.  I  then  immediately  threw  away  my 
saddle  into  the  water ;  this  I  called  a  provi- 
dence in  my  favor,  as  I  was  relieved  of  a 


203 

great  part  of  my  burden,  for  I  valued  my 
horse  as  nothing  in  comparison  of  my  own 
life.  With  my  staff'  in  my  hand  to  feel  out 
the  way,  I  now  set  myself  out  and  crossed  the 
log,  and  all  the  company  followed,  but  Lewis ; 
his  guilty  conscience  probably  kept  him  back. 
We  all  got  over  safe,  calling  out  to  Lewis  to 
cross  over  after  us  :  he  being  very  much  in- 
timidated, would  not  venture,  but  offered  me 
his  horse  and  all  his  property,  which  amounted 
to  about  three  hundred  dollars,  if  I  would 
go  to  him,  and  help  him  over.  Not  for  his 
property,  but  out  of  the  bowels  of  pity,  I  was 
moved  to  assist  him.  This  Lewis  was  not 
die  person  of  that  name  with  whom  I  was 
in  trade.  I  canot  help  remarking  the  coward- 
ice of  this  man  in  the  time  of  apparent  death  ! 
He  was  the  man  that  a  short  time  before 
could  blaspheme  (with  high  courage),  not  only 
the  winds,  rains,  thunders  and  lightnings,  and 
him  that  sent  them ;  but  must  undertake  to 
d — n  me,  for  having  checked  him  in  the  time 
of  his  presumptive  blasphemies.  He  was  so 
audaciously  presumptive  that  I  was  afraid  that 
the  next  shock  of  thunder  would  strike  us 
dead  and  send  us  into  the  eternal  world  all 
together  !  This  occasioned  my  retreat  from 
my  company  to  a  distant  tree,  where,  as  I 
said,  finding  the  water  ancle  deep,  I  climbed 
the  tree,  and  sitting  in  the  lower  branch  of 
the  tree,  I  there  was  obliged  to  hear  the 
thoughtless  language  of  an  almost  infernal 
•and  inhuman  tongue,  until  a  sudden  stroke 


204 

of  lightning  shattered  a  distant  tree,  and  broke 
the  arm  of  the  wretched  victim  ! 

I  was  at  this  time  called  upon  to  bind  up 
his  wound,  which  I  was  inconveniently  able  to 
perform,  as  we  had  no  shelter  from  the  rain. 
Having  been  in  battles  in  Europe,  and  seeing 
the  modes  in  which  the  physician  proceeded 
xvith  broken  limbs  and  mangled  flesh,  and 
having  medicines  by  me,  which  I  always  car- 
ried, 1  was  able  to  make  a  tolerable  good 
shift  in  this  business.  Lewis  was  now  be- 
holden and  obliged  to  the  very  man,  on  whom 
he  had  just  before  been  casting  the  most  blas- 
phemous expressions.  During  all  this  time, 
his  heart  appeared  big  and  highly  exalted  with 
courage  ;  he  never  would  concede  to  make 
any  acknowledgement  of  his  crime  in  this 
audacious  and  blasphemous  action ;  but,  wretch- 
ed man !  although  he  appeared  to  excel  in 
courage,  and  a  spirit  of  valour,  even  against 
heaven  itself,  in  these  his  blasphemies  ;  yet, 
see  now  his  cowardice,  when  death  in  reality 
opens  the  door  of  entrance,  and  seems  steadily 
to  look  him  in  the  face  !  O  Lewis  !  thou  pit- 
iful, sorrowful  son  of  wretchedness  and  wo  ! 
Where  has  now  thy  courage  fled  ?  Hast  thou 
been  all  along  too  strong  for  omnipotence  and 
so  ignorant  that  thou  hast  but  lately  thought 
that  God  the  great,  the  almighty,  was  greater, 
more  powerful,  and  more  wise  than  thyself? 
Cunst  thou  now  tread  on  the  threshold  of  hea- 
ven, and  defy  omnipotence  itself?  Surely 
whilst  the  thunders  and  lightning  rolled  through 


205 

the  heavens,  thy  presumptuous  heart  presum- 
ed to  lift  itself  up  !  But  where  art  thau  now? 
Surely,  said  my  soul,  according  to  the  poet,  of 
the  natural  man, 

Man  Is  but  vanity  and  dust. 
In  all  his  flower  and  prime  ! 

How  often  have  I  remarked,  the  most  wick- 
ed and  presumptuous  sinners,  when  they  are 
brought  into  dangers  and  approaching  death, 
are  greatest  cowards ;  and  they  then  begin  to 
cry  out.  Wo  is  me,  I  am  undone  !  Where- 
as those  who  are  afraid  to  sin  and  tempt 
the  God  of  omnipotent  power  with  oaths  and 
blasphemies,  are  a  people  of  a  different  kind  ; 
and  when  death  approaches  near  them,  they 
have  courage  to  make  their  prayer  to  the  al- 
mighty God,  and  find  themselves  often  saved 
from  impending  destruction  !  How  often  do 
I  hear  men  make  use  of  the  name  of  God  in 
an  uncouth  and  unmeaning  manner,  as  though 
they  were  such  people  of  courage  that  they 
feared  the  face  of  none  that  live,  but  when 
brought  down  by  sickness,  are  the  greatest 
cowards  on  the  earth.  This  is  like  the  case 
of  poor  Lewis*  O  thou  wicked  and  blasphe- 
mous sinner,  who  art  so  hardened  that  thou 
thinkest  thou  fearst  not  God  above  or  men 
below,  remember,  that  those  who  appear  to  be 
the  greatest  men  of  courage  here,  in  fighting 
and  oaths,  blasphemies,  and  every  degree  of 
wickedness,  will  be  soon  *cutid  to  turn  the 
•greatest  cowards,  and  the  poorest  v/retches 


206 

that  are  to  be  found  on  the  face  of  the  earth ! 
as  miserable  and  as  wretched  as  this  man  was. 
By  his  entreaties  and  fervent  petitions  I  was 
prevailed  on  to  go  over  and  assist  hirn  in 
crossing  the  dangerous  pass,  and  accordingly 
went  over  to  him,  and  bade  him  to  take  hold 
of  my  coat,  which  he  did  ;  I  turned  myself 
and  went  back  ;  we  went  on  very  well  until 
we  were  half  way  over,  when  it  seemed  to  me 
as  a  just  and  an  awful  providence  would  have 
it,  he  slipped  with  one  of  his  feet,  and  doubt- 
less  the  affright  given  to  the  poor  wretch  by 
the  danger,  occasioned  an  inattention  to  the 
hold  which  he  had  on  the  skirt  of  my  garment ; 
he  let  it  go  and  was  instantly  swept  off  and 
sunk  out  of  our  sight ;  his  clothes  were  wet 
and  heavy,  and  they  immediately  carried  him 
to  the  bottom. 

During  this  sad  catastrophe,  the  other  four 
companions  stood  looking  on  us  with  longing 
expectation  ;  myself  only  came  back  safe  ; 
and  here,  notwithstanding  all  our  efforts  in 
favor  of  the  salvation  of  the  poor  man,  we  were 
obliged  to  say,  in  the  lines  of  the  Poet, 

Great  God !  how  wondrous  are  thy  works, 

Thy  ways  how  justly  wisp ; 
When  man  blasphemes  thee  to  thy  face, 

How  terribly  -lie  dies  ! 

So  they  who  did  thy  Inws  despise, 

To  tempt  thee  to  thy  i'ace  ; 
How  quick  the)  sirik  away  and  die, 

1)   >  -it!  of  heavenly  grace. 

At  some  unseen  and  awful  day  ! 

Witt. i  sinners  rest  secure  ; 
Thy  wrath,  lik<     haff  -  \.  eeps  them  aw 

Nor  wi'l  it  lo.^  endure  ! 


207 

Death  like  an  overflowing  stream, 

Sweeps  us  away  :  our  life's  a  'Iream  ; 
An  empty  tale  ;  a  morning:  flower  ; 

Cut  down  and  withered  in  an  hour. 

Teach  us,  O  Lord,  how  frail  is  man, 

And  kindly.Jcngthen  out  our  span  ; 
Till  :i  wise  care  of  piety, 

Fit  us  to  die  and  dwell  with  thee. 

Thus,  we  saw  his  end.  I  have  often  thought 
of  the  meaning  of  that  threatening  in  Deutero- 
nomy to  the  wicked  Israelites,  given  in  the 
song  of  Moses  in  the  32nd  chapter  of  this 
book,  "  their  foot  shall  slide  in  due  time  ;" 
and  again,  of  that  more  fearful  saying  in  the 
scriptures,  of  the  presumptuous  wicked,  that 
their  "  sun  shall  go  down  at  noon;"  seeing 
him  so  unlit  to  die,  I  was  moved  with  pity  to 
try  to  assist  him,  which  was  the  occasion  of 
my  going  back  after  him.  I  ought  to  men- 
tion, that  after  I  had  made  my  petition  to 
heaven  for  relief,  I  lost  almost  all  my  dread 
and  fear  of  the  impending  dangers.  I  thought 
that  1  felt  all  my  sins  forgiven,  and  a  firm 
trust  in  the  God  of  providence,  and  I  went 
back  after  Lewis,  without  much  fear  or  intim- 
idation ;  and  taking  his  baggage  on  my  shoul- 
ders, and  directing  him  to  take  hold  of  die 
skirts  of  my  coat,  I  returned  ;  and  coming 
back  again,  when  we  were  about  middle  way, 
he  slipped  his  feet,  and  as  he  slipped,  I  sup- 
pose through  surprise,  let  go  of  my  coat,  as 
I  before  observed,  and  the  stream  carried  him 
off;  he  immediately  was  seen  no  more,  I 
arriving  safe,  went  with  my  companions,  v,ra- 
'  ding  near  to  the  middie  in  water,  until  we  ar- 


208 

rived  on  high  ground.  We  took  care  of  our 
horses.  I  had  Lewis's  instead  of  my  own. 
We  endeavored  to  get  fire  by  rubbing  of 
wood  together  ;  this  endeavor  proved  fruitless, 
the  wood  being  wet,  I  then*  took  a  vial  of 
phosphorus  out  of  my  portmanteau,  with  which 
I  soon  created  a  fire  ;  and  finding  some  old 
wood,  we  were  able  in  a  short  time  to  dry 
some  of  our  clothes  :  then,  with  the  consent 
of  the  company ;  I  took  Lewis's  horse  and 
property  as  mine,  which  he  freely  offered  me 
before  his  death  for  my  assistance  in  trying  to 
help  him  over  the  water.  We  now  proceeded 
on  our  journey  about  twelve  miles,  and  came 
to  an  Indian  house,  where  we  took  refreshment 
after  the  .Indian  manner  ;  from  thence  we  pro- 
ceeded on  our  journey  for  about  two  days, 
when  my  horse  gave  out ;  and  my  companions 
were  obliged  to  leave  me  at  the  house  of  one 
Cully,  an  Indian  king.  Here  I  remained  eight 
clays,  until  my  horse  got  well ;  then  I  furnished 
myself  with  a  fresh  supply  of  provisions,  and 
set  off  on  my  journey. 

This  was  the  23rd  day  since  my  departure 
from  Pensacola.  I  fed  my  horse  and  dried 
my  provisions  in  the  sun  this  afternoon  ;  here 
I  was  attacked  by  a  company  of  six  Indians : 
they  approached  and  examined  my  saddle  and 
bridle,  and  smelling  my  bread  and  meat,  they 
each  of  them  took  a  share  of  it  by  force  : 
upon  this,  I  ran  down  a  hill  and  made  a  loud 
call,  as  though  I  was  calling  several  companies 
to  my  assistance,  which  the  Indians  hearing, 


209 

fled  and  left  their  bootv  ;  then  I  proceeded 
and  travelled  on  until  night,  when  I  rested 
and  encamped  under  a  tree  very  discontented. 
I  was  in  a  wilderness  at  a  great  distance  from 
am  habitation.  In  the  morning  when  I  awoke, 
I  looked  for  my  horse,  but  could  neither 
see  nor  hear  any  thing  of  him  :  I  then  took 
rm  portmanteaus  on  my  shoulder,  for  fear  of 
a  second  accident,  and  walked  round  my  place 
of  encampment  for  some  time,  hunting:  for 
my  horse,  but  could  see  nothing  of  him. 
I  returned  with  a  heavy  heart,  because  I  was 
up  wards  of  two  hundred  miles- from  any  white 
inhabitants ;  and  my  provisions  on  my  return 
I  found  were  all  gone.  I  had  now  neither 
horse  to  ride,  or  provisions  to  subsist  on.  I 
now  sat  down  on  my  saddle  to  meditate  on 
what  was  best  to  be  done  in  this  disconsolate 
situation,  and  finally  concluded  to  take  the 
best  of  my  clothes  and  my  money,  and  make 
the  best  of  my  way  to  Georgia  ;  and  proceeded 
forward  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  when  I  heard 
a  loud  call  behind  me.  I  looked  back  and 
saw  an  Indian  boy,  I  concluded  about  sixteen, 
years  of  age.  1  waited  until  he  came  up  to 
me  :  he  asked  me  where  my  horse  wa^  :  I 
answered  in  broken  indian  language  that  1  did 
not  know,  but  I  expected  that  he  was  sto- 
len ;  he  then  said,  that  if  I  would  give  him 
five  dollars  he  would  bring  him  to  me  I 
offered  him  one  dollar,  but  that  would  not 
answer.  I  was  then  forced  to  give  him  his 
demand,  and  in  about  twenty  minutes  Iw 
s  2 


210 

brought  him  to  me.  I  was  struck  with  rage 
and  indignation  'at  the  perfidv  of  this  you  g 
savage,  but  reflecting  that  there  might  be  oth- 
ers Concerned  in  the  business  much  more  crafty 
ai«d  perfidious  than  himself,  I  forbore  to  fake 
ven^«  ance.  I  took  my  horse,  and  proceeded 
on  ;ny  journey  seven  days  successively,  and 
without  meeting  vvirh  any  material  difficulty, 
until  I  came  to  the  Oakamudge  river,  which 
is  the  dividing  line  between  the  Indian  nation  : 
here  I  found  myself  in  a  dilemma ;  I  rode  up 
aiK1  down  for  five  or  six  miles,  but  found  no 
place  to  cross.  Being  determined  once  more 
to  ger  amongst  the  white  inhabitants,  I  drove 
in\'  horse  into  the  water  to  ford  the  river  by 
sttitfiming,  and  my  horse  stumbling  over 
rocks  threw  me  over  his  head,  but  having  hold 
of  the  bridle,  I  made  my  way  over  the  river, 
a  dangerous  place  to  pass  ;  my  clothes  being 
wet,  I  dried  them  in  the  sun  on  the  other 
side  ;  as  1  was  mounting  my  horse,  I  espied 
a  very  large  rattle  snake,  about  four  feet  in 
length  :  I  endeavored  to  make  my  escape  from 
it,  but  unfortunately  it  struck  the  foot  of  my 
horse :  nevertheless,  I  went  on  my  journey 
some  time  before  my  horse  fell.  I  went  for- 
ward  to  a  house  and  called  to  a  man  to  view 
my  unfortunate  loss,  and  to  get  some  advice 
concerning  the  possibility  of  his.  being  cured  ; 
but  when  we  returned  to  him  we  found  him 
dead. 

I  hired  a  horse  to  carry  me  to  Augusta,  at 
place  1  arrived  on  the  2 5th  day  of  June., 


211 

A.  D.  1808.  .  Here  I  rested  myself  several 
days,  and  after  all  my  losses,  trials,  and  diffi- 
culties, I  had  still  a  handsome  property  left. 
When  my  acquaintance  here  found  out  my 
circumstances,  many  of  them  solicited  me  to 
join  with  them  in  some  business  ;  this  I  de- 
clined, preferring  to  place  my  property  in  land 
interest.  I  had  seen  so  much  uncertainty  in 
trading,  and  other  business  of  a  speculating 
kind,  (although  I  had  lately  been  fortunate), 
that  it  seemed  a  surer  way  to  save  my  money 
by  lnying  it  out  in  some  substantial  property. 
I  accordingly  purchased  sixteen  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  wild,  uncultivated  land.  There 
is  eight  lots  of  this  land,  202  1-2  acres  in  each 
lot,  which  is  of  good  soil,  and  will  probably 
in  a  short  time  sell  for  a  very  advanced  price ; 
this  land  was  purchased  by  the  state  ol  Geor- 
gia of  the  Creek  nation,  in  A.  D.  1806,  and 
given  by  lottery  to  the  several  inhabitants  of 
whom  I  purchased  my  rights.  1  bought  one 
of  these  lots  within  about  four  miles  of  Mil- 
legeville,  the  seat  of  government,  in  the  same 
purchase.  I  esteem  this  lot  as  the  most  valu- 
able. In  about  three  weeks  after  rny  entrance 
here,  I  came  on  to  Philadelphia,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  here  I  enquired  for  the  price  of  lands 
in  those  parts  where  1  had  purchased  ;  finding 
that  the  Embargo  had  made  impressions  on  ail 
kinds  of  speculations  and  commerce,  I  thought 
it  ^vas  best  to  keep  the  land  until  it  could  be 
more  advantageously  sold  ;  indeed,  I  wanted 
my  interest  to  be  put  into  a  more  stable 


than  wild  and  uncertain  speculations  ;  but  still 
I  did  not  wish  to  have  it  all  lay  in  property, 
that  I  could  make  no  immediate  use  of;  and 
seeing  but  a  few  new  tenements  erected  on 
these  lots,  and  having  paid  a  large  sum  of 
money  away  for  them.  I  was  willing  to  own. 
not  quite  so  much  property  of  this  kind,  and 
wait  so  long  for  the  use  of  it,  and  therefore 
concluded,  (upon  second  thought),  I  would 
sell  the  whole  of  the  lots  for  as  good  advance 
as  possible,  and  then  embark  for  my  native 
country  in  Germany  ;  but  not  being  able  to 
get  a  price  to  mv  mind,  I  concluded  to  let  it  lie 
as  it  was,  assured  that  in  a  few  years  it  must 
be  a  very  valuable  and  independent  property. 
1  felt  myself  willing  to  go  on  in  my  former  in- 
dustrious mode  of  procedure,  and  try  to  collect 
together  a  sufficiency  for  a  comfortable  sub- 
sistence until  times  altered  ;  this  was  a  new 
and  an  unexpected  idea,  but  it  was  such  as  I 
was  obliged  to  concede  to,  it  being  the  only 
alternative  ;  it  appeared  like  forced  work,  but 
it  was  not,  as  I  could  not  make  convenient 
sale  of  the  land,  and  I  was  unwilling  to  sell  it 
under  its  real  value. 

I  had  nothing  of  great  consequence  now  to 
do.  and  undertook  reluctantly  my  dissipating 
trade  of  exhibitions  for  a  short  time.  Likt  to 
a  fish  out  of  water,  so  I  was  out  of  my  element, 
and  soon  removed  to  Trenton  in  New-Jersey, 
where  I  expected  better  employ,  but  fou'id 
ni  >e,  and  was  obliged  to  exhibit  again  In 
a  icw  days  1  caikd  for  my  bill,  when  1  ibuiid 


213 

that  my  out  go  was  more  than  my  income  and 
far  exceeded  my  profits.  From  this  time,  I 
firmly  resolved  never  more  to  perform  any  of 
the  slight- of -hand  exhibitions,  and  freely  gave 
up  all  my  instruments  and  accoutrements  to 
my  partner.  With  indignation  and  contempt 
I  left  and  despised  the  whole  business  ;  I  saw 
that  it  was  all  nothing  but  a  perfect  imposition 
on  the  public  ;  I  therefore  determined  to  seek 
my  fortune  by  the  same  industry  by  which  I 
had  acquired  the  most  respectable  living  in  the 
world,  and  according  to  uiis  resolution  I  went 
into  Easton,  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  at 
which  place  I  arrived  on  the  6th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1809  ;  in  this  place  I  remained  about 
four  months,  and  from  thence  I  went  toBlooms- 
bury,  a  small  village  in  New-Jersey,  where  I 
remained  but  a  short  time,  and  then  remoVed 

lo  Asburv,  in  the  same  county,  where  I  now 

*  i  *  ' 

reside. 

In  my  journey  to  Philadelphia,  I  passed 
through  Lancaster,  an  important  town  in  the 
state  of  Pennsylvania :  this  town  stands  on 
Conestogo  Creek,  about  sixty- six  miles  north- 
west from  Philadelphia,  and  is  said  to  be  the 
largest  inland  town  in  America.  It  contains  a 
handsome  fcourt- house,  a  number  of  churches, 
about  one  thousand  houses,  and  five  or  six 
thousand  inhabitants.  It  has  a  college  by  the 
name  of  the  Franklin  College.  It  is  the  seat 
of  government  for  the  State,  The  buildings 
are  large  and  elegant,  and  chiefly  buik  of  stone : 
the  State-house  stands  in  the  middle  of  the 


214 

town,  facing  four  of  the  principal  streets.  The 
language  spoken  here  is  chiefly  German.  I 
left  this  place  in  a  few  days  and  proceeded  to 
Philadelphia,  as  the  reader  will  recollect.  This 
city  is  the  fairest  and  the  most  regular  built 
of  any  which  I  have  seen  in  North- America.  It 
lies  in  latitude  39  degrees  nearly  North,  and 
stands  on  the  West  bank  of  the  Delaware,  on 
a  level  situation  about  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  from  the  sea.  It  is  a  regular  city ,  all  the 
streets  crossing  each  other  in  right  angles.  Its 
public  religious  buildings  are,  five  churches 
for  Quakers,  six  for  Presbyterian,  three  for 
Episcopalians,  two  for  German  Lutherans, 
some  for  Baptist  and  Methodist,  and  for  al- 
most every  other  religious  denomination  of 
Christians  ;  and  they  appear  to  be  very  kind  in 
tolerating  and  giving  liberty  to  all  Christian 
denominations.  Its  other  public  buildings 
are  a  state -house  and  offices,  a  city  co  ore-  house, 
a  carpenter's  hall,  a  hall  for  the  pbifosqphica 
society,  and  dispensary,  a  hospital  and  offices, 
an  almshouse,  a  house  of  correction,  a  public 
linen  and  cotton  factory,  a  public  observa- 
tory, three  brick  market-houses,  and  two  pub- 
lic goals,  one  of  them  having  been  lately  built; 
besides  a  college  and  academies.  There  are 
near  eight  thousand  dwelling- houses  and  se- 
venty or  eighty  thousand  inhabitants  of  almost 
all  the  different  nations  on  earth ;  I  have  seen 
ever,  some  Algerines  and  Chinese  in  this  city. 
Phiiade!v:-,h  vj  laid  out  from  the  Delaware  to 
Schuyikii),  about  two  miles  in  width,  and  is  set- 


215 

tkd  about  one  mile  in  width  and  between 
three  and  four  miles  in  length.  This  city  was 
laid  out  by  the  famous  William  Penn,  in  the 
year  1690,  and  is  the  second  city  in  the 
United  States  for  commerce.  The  streets  are 
wide  and  elegant ;  some  of  their  walks  on 
the  sides  are  most  elegantly  paved  with  tiles 
and  brick  :  it  is  also  conveniently  watered  by 
pipes  leading  from  Schuylkill,  which  leads 
the  water  into  every  story  of  the  houses 
thoughout  the  city.  This  is  done  by  a  wa- 
ter machine  which  stands  in  the  centre  of  the 
city,  which  conveys  the  \?aterwith  surprising 
ease  and  facility  to  every  part  of  the  city,  even 
to  the  third  story  of  their  dwelling-houses. 
The  state  of  Pennsylvania  is  situated  between 
39  deg.  and  48  min.  and  42  deg.  of  North  la- 
titude, and  between  74  and  8 1  deg.  of  West 
longitude.  It  is  about  280  miles  long  and 
one  hundred  and  sixty  broad.  It  is  bounded 
on  the  North  by  the  42nd  degree  of  North  la- 
titude, East  by  the  Delaware  river,  south  by 
a  line  drawn  parallel  with  the  43rd  minute  of 
the  39th  deg.  of  North  latitude,  and  West  by 
Virginia,  the  Connecticut  lands,  and  the  Wes- 
tern Territory,  It  is  divided  into  twenty  five 
counties.  There  are  six  large  rivers  in  this 
state,  and  nearly  one  third  of  it  is  mountainous, 
but  a  large  portion  of  the  soil  is  very  good 
and  many  of  the  mountains  admit  of  cultiva- 
tion almost  to  the  top.  Wheat  is  the  staple 
commodity  of  the  state,  which  is  raised  in 
great  plenty.  The  government  has  given  no 


216 

preference  to  any  religious  society,  but  the 
Quakers  are  the  most  numerous ;  Presby- 
terians are  the  next  class  in  numbers ;  the 
Lutherans  are  the  third ;  and  after  them  there 
are  various  denominations,  among  which  are 
the  Moravian.  The  commerce  of  this  state 
is  very  flourishing  and  extensive.  The  centre 
of  trade  is  Philadelphia.  They  have  some  of  the 
most  excellent  laws  for  the  encouragement  of 
the  poor  and  industrious,  even  in  many  of  their 
public  gaols  there  is  employment  with  reason- 
able wages  given  to  prisoners  ;  many  of  them, 
therefore,  are  encouraged  to  labour,  and  soon 
pay  off  their  debts,  and  sometimes  bring  small 
sums  with  them  out  of  the  gaol ;  some  of  these 
gaols  appear  like  large  factories,  where  almost 
every  mechanical  branch  is  carried  on  :  these 
establishments  are  said  to  be  owing  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Quakers,  who  love  industry  and 
wish  every  man  to  pay  his  honest  debts.  There 
are  but  few  crimes  punished  with  death  by 
the  laws  of  this  state  ;  murder,  an  on,  and  a 
few  others  are ;  but  hard  labor  for  a  term,  or 
for  life,  is  the  punishment  for  most  of  the 
crimes  which  in  other  states  are  punished  with 
death. 

Trenton,  in  New- Jersey,  lies  about  eighteen 
miles  north-east  from  Philadelphia.  It  is  the 
seat  of  government,  and  the  principal  town  in 
the  state,  and  contains  between  three  and  four 
hundred  houses  ;  it  is  very  pleasant,  and  hand- 
somely built,  and  has  a  considerable  inland 
trade.  It  has  one  handsome  main  street,  one 
or  two  back  streets,  one  cross  street,  and  several 


217 

allies,  and  many  of  the  dwelling-houses  are  ve- 
ry regularly  and  elegantly  built.  The  inhabi- 
tants in  general  are  industrious,  humane,  and 
enterprising ;  they  have  a  state-house,  market- 
house,  and  houses  for  public  worship.  Here 
I  labored  at  my  trade  about  three  weeks  with 
Mr.  John  Morris  ;  from  thence  I  went  to  Eas- 
ton,  from  Easton  to  Bloomsbury,  and  from 
there  to  Asbury,  a  pleasant  village  in  the  same 
county,  which  is  now  my  present  place  of  re- 
sidence. 

I  came  here  on  the  26th  day  of  February, 
IS  10. k  I  feel  myself  happy  that  I  live  in  a 
country  where  every  man  enjoys  his  liberty 
and  is  protected  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  his 
property.  I  hare  seen  several  nations,  of  dif- 
ferent manners  and  descriptions,  both  in  the 
line  of  agriculture  and  of  commerce,  and  have 
had  the  advantage  of  learning  from  them  va- 
rious modes  and  manners.  I  have  often  look- 
ed back  on  the  course  of  my  former  life,  even 
from  childhood  to  the  present  time ;  and  the 
things  most  worthy  of  my  remark  are,  that  I 
have  experienced  so  many  different  scenes, 
from  unexpected  quarters,  and  where  I  had 
the  least  reasons  to  look  for  them.  In  the  first 
place,  that  so  early  in  life  I  should  take  my 
lot  in  the  changing  and  uncertain  fortunes  of 
a  travelling  life,  when  I  left  my  father,  and  es- 
pecially my  sister  in  Strasburg.  2nd.  That 
when  I  travelled  over  the  mountains,  rocks  and 
ditches,  and  was  lost  in  the  night  in  the  deserts 
of  Switzerland,  that  I  should  then  think  of  cal- 


218 

iing  on  the  God  of  my  youth  for  succour,  and 
find  such  immediate  deliverance.  3rd,  That 
when  I  should  have  otherwise  been  condemn  - 
ed,  that  the  person  in  Paris  should  come  for- 
ward in  court,  and  confess  that  I  was  perfectly 
innocent  of  the  charge  ;  and  that  when  I  was 
about  to  deprive  myself  of  life,  that  such 
a  peculiar  providence  should  send  the  old  wo- 
man out  to  prevent  me  in  the  manner  in  which 
she  did.  4th.  That  when  I  was  in  prison  in 
Hanover  the  circumstance  of  the  writing  being 
found  in  the  pocket  of  the  man  who  commit- 
ted the  suicide,  thereby  clearing  me  from  be- 
ing beheaded,  according  to  the  laws  of  that 
country.  5th.  My  wonderful  escape  from  the 
field  of  battle  in  St.  Domingo.  6th.  My  de- 
liverance from  ship- wreck  in  an  island  in  the 
East- Indies.  7th.  My  imprisonment  in  Mex- 
ico, and  my  very  singular  and  remarkable  de- 
liverance. 8th.  My  singular  fortune,  and  es- 
cape in  getting  through,  when  my  horse  was 
left  in  the  miry  swamp.  9th.  My  singular  and 
wonderful  deliverance  from  British  imprison- 
ment, when  taken  in  the  bay  of  Mobile.  10th. 
My  wonderful  deliverance  in  crossing  the 
creek,  as  lately  related,  in  the  Creek  nation. 

The  ten  things  now  mentioned  are  very  pe- 
culiar and  important,  and  are  of  very  singular 
import :  they  must  mean  that  the  providence 
of  God,  the  universal  Governor  of  the  world, 
has  had  a  peculiar  care  and  guard  over  my 
life.  But  his  goodness  and  tender  mercies  are 
over  all  the  works  of  his  hands,  and  although 


219 

many  think  that  things  are  governed  by  chance, 
accident,  and  what  is  called  fortune,  yet  when 
I  consider  the  singular  providences  which  have 
paved  the  way  to  my  deliverance  from  suffer- 
ings, imprisonment,  and  death,  it  has  often 
caused  me  to  draw  up  a  more  rational  conclu- 
sion, and  forced  me  to  acknowledge  an  all- wise, 
merciful,  and  Supreme  Being,  who  both  im- 
partially regards  and  governs  the  actions  of 
men.  The  reader  will  see  a  few  of  my  thoughts- 
oil  this  subject  in  the  following  pathetic  lines  : 

The  earth  was  not  from  nature  brought, 

Nor  sprang  from  dark  abyss  ; 
But  by  the  power  which  every  hour 

Declares  the  work  is  His. 

He  governs  all,  both  great  and  small, 

He  calls  the  stars  by  name  ; 
Just  so  he  views  the  smallest  dews 

Which  power  and  mercy  frame. 
When  Prelates  frown  and  press  us  down, 

And  death  appears  in  view  ! 
We  often  fear  his  dreadful  power, 

Forget  his  mercies  too. 

When  I  through  fields  of  blood  did  wield 

The  bright  and  glittering  sword, 
His  power  did  save  fvom  dismal  grave 

By  an  almighty  word. 
When  storms  affright  in  gloomy  night, 

And   lightnings    blaze  around, 
WThen  India's  shore  with  thunders  roar, 

And  all  our  thoughts  confound  ; 
To  see  that  power  in  peril's  hour, 

Our  threat  ned  lives  secure, 
Whilst  others  sink  beneath  the  brink, 

And  fall  «to  rise  no  more. 

See  honors  flow  and  riches  grow, 

As  tho'  'twould  ne'er  be  night ; 
In  Spaaish  climes  where  joyful  times 

W^ere  like  the  morning  bright. 
See  darkest  shades  of  death  pervade, 

And  spoil  the  happy  birth  ; 
The  hand  that  gave  prepares  the  grave, 

And  sinks  it  to  the  earth. 


220 

la  dismal  deep  we  solemn  weep 

To  him  who  £.'ive  us  l»"eath  ; 
He  hears  our  cry,  forbids  to  die. 

And  frees  from  threat'ning  death. 
lie  bids  us  learn  his  bowels  yearn 

To  toftch  us  all  his  ways  ; 
lie  sets  us  free,  that  we  may  sec 

His  chief  peculiar  grace. 
AY  hen  in  the  savage  desert  lost, 

Nor  friendly  arm  to  s:»ve  ;    , 
.Almighty  power,  in  solemn  hour, 

Restor'd  me  from  the  grave.  . 

'When  o'er  the  seas  with  gentle  breeze 

We  pleasantly  did  sail, 
Onr  ship  we  lo^t  all  on  the  coast, 

But  coon  our  joys  prevail. 
When  o'er  the  flood  on  hanks  we  stood, 

Nor  help  nor  friends  were  nigh  ; 
Deep  call'd  to  deep,  and  we  did  weep, 

And  pvajM  to  the  Most  High. 
This  arm  of  might  in  darkest  night, 

\Vhen  dangers  flow'd  around  ; 
Rid  see  the  tear  of  humble  prayer. 

And  "made  bis  grace  abound. 


An  explanation  of  the  abstruse  parts  of  the  pre- 
ceding narrative,  the  subject  of  which  has 
for  ages  past  kept  the  nations  of  Europe  in 

0  enthusiastic  darkness,  even  to  the  present 
day,  and  which  were  performed  in  the  man- 
ner following : 

Of  the  raised  Ghost. — I  first  prepared  three  rooms,  and  then 
lined  them  with  hlack  cloth  or  tapestry  throughout,  even  the  floors  : 
the  walls  are  covered  with  the  skeletons  of  dead  people  ;  there  are 
likewise  pictures  of  ghosts  and  deA'ils  hanging  round  the  rooms  :  in 
the  third  room  stands  a  large  electrical  machine  and  an  altar  cover- 
ed with  black  cloth,  with  a  dead  scull,  a  large  book,  and  two  burn- 
ing cand  es  standing  on  the  same  :  before  the  altar  stands  an  insula- 
ted platform,  whereon  the  spectators  stand  :  these  rooms  are  in  a  do 
as  frightful  as  possible  with  the  black  cloths,  skeletons,  and  dark 
glooms  of  the  night :  the  spectators  are  surprised  at  the  entrance  of 
the  first  room  ;  this  is  increased  on  entering  into  the  second  :  the 
gloomy  appearance  of  the  secoiid  room,  the  sable  covering,  and  th«t 
frightful  appearance  of  the  skeletons,  are  viewed  by  the  light  o*' a 
small  glimmering- candle  placed  there  to  light  the  frighted  spectators. 
through  into  the  third  room  :  on  e?itering  this  room,  they  pull  ofi.° 
iheir  shoes  :  entering  the  door,  their  surprize  increases  by  receiving 
a  shock.  Stepping  forward  with  earnest  expectation,  the  spectator- 
places  himself  on  the  platform  before  mentioned  ;  here  he  immedi- 
ately finds  himself  in  a  free  perspiration  by  means  of  the  electrical 
machine  ;  when  he  casts  around  his  eyes  on  his  company,"he  bJioldi 
their  countenances  pale  and  changed,  like  the  countenance  of  death  . 
this  alteration  of  countenance  proceeds  from  the  burning  of  a  lamp 
prepared  for  the  purpose  :  the  t\vo  candles  are  still  burning  or.  ih-; 
altar  :  they  now  see  flashes  of  lightning  and  hear  the  roaring  of  tlmn 
der,  followed  by  a  sound,  of  a  storm  oi  wind,  \vith  a  shower  of  rain  : 
after  this,  with  a  heavy  crock  of  thunder,  the  candles  cease  to  bcirn, 
going  out  of  themselves.  !Nfow  the  spectators  arc  all  in  total  dark- 
ness :  then  1  command  the  spirit  to  come  forward  :  with  a  heavy 
sound  of  rattling  chains  and  a  groaning  noist-  UK-  spirit  makes  his  ap- 
pearance before  the  spectators  :  he  appears  wh'Ue,  or  of  a  fiery  CMS!", 
and  the  flames  emitted  from  him  afford  the  spectator*  sxifficient  ii^ht 
fco  view  him  in  perfect  sha]>e  :  I  sp:>xk  to  him  and  receive  f-ora  him 
nns\»vrs  i'i  a  solemn  and  rcguUir  »n;-;>i  :•.<.•!• :  he  Hisappears  •  t  -nv  com- 
mand., and  the  candles  light  up  of  ihemscWeSj  ju.d  tlio  wLoife  rooiii  w 
T  2 


filled  with  flaming  fire,  a  fire  which  is  not  in  the  least  degree  injuri- 
ous to  the  company,  i.  e.  the  whole  air  in  the  room  is  on  fire  ;  after 
which  the  company  is  dismissed. 

The  whole  of  this  work  is  done  in  the  following  manner  :  first  I 
procured  me  a  magic  lantern,  on  the  glass  of  which  I  painted  the 
image  of  the  spirit  that  I  wished  to  raise,  and  placed  it  in  front  of 
ihe  magnifying  glasses  which  are  in  the  lantern  ;  then  I  procured  a 
oox  four  feet  high,  four  feet  long,  and  two  feet  wide  ;  on  the  top  of 
Ihe  hox,  in  the  middle  or  centre,  I  cut  a  hole  of  six  inches  in  length 
and  one  inch  in  width  ;  exactly  under  this  small  hole  I  placed  a  small 
I»an  filled  with  coals  ;  in  this  pan  I  put  a  smoking  powder  which  im- 
;viC(ii:«tely  ascended  with  a  heavy,  rolling  smoke  :  there  is  a  second 
hole  cut  through  the  box  on  the"  top,  about  one  foot  square  :  I  put 
the  magic  lantern  in  the  middle  of  the  box  ;  on  the  lowest  side,  op- 
posite this  lantern,  I  placed  a  looking-glass  in  slanting  form,  with  the 
top  leaning  against  the  backside  of  the  box.  This  glass  casts  I)K* 
reflection  of  the  image  up  through  the  large  hole  into  the  midst  of 
the  pillars  of  smoke,  its  appeai-ance  in  full  size  and  exact  form  of  a 
man,  and  in  just  such  dress  as  I  please  to  paint  out  on  the  glass.  AH 
•these  works  are  shut  up  from  the  view  of  the  spectators. 

Tlfis  was  the  wav  in  which  I  raised  the  spirit  in  Mexico,  for  which, 
and  a  few  other  things,  I  suffered  my  imprisonment  in  that  super- 
stitious city.  • 

But  to  proceed  to  mention  how  I  conversed  with  this  spirit.  I 
-hfrvl  a  friend  standing  in  an  adjacent  room,  by  a  hole  cut  through  the 
partition,  who  by  a  long  tube  fixed  at  the  place  where  the  mouth  of 
the  spirit  appears  and  peaching  into  the  room  back,  speaks  the  words 
which  by  the  spectators  are  supposed  to  be  spoken  by  the  spirit : 
their  coming  out  of  the  end  of  the  tube  drives  the  smoke  a  little  a- 
part,  and  makes  an  appearance  like  the  moving  of  the  lips  of  a  per- 
son when  he  speaks  :  this  has  a  very  natural  appearance  ;  but  per- 
haps a  spirit,  if  there  be  any,  can  speak  without  motion. 

The  rolling  and  sound  of  thunder  was  made  by  the  roiling  of  small 
cannon-balls  over  the  floor  above  their  heads,  which  was  performed 
by  two  friends  placed  there  for  that  purpose. 

The  lightning  round  the  room,  preceding  this  thunder,  and  run- 
ning in  si  Ci-ankiing  form,  was  done  by  mixing  fine  pounded  powder 
with  spirits  of  v  ine,  and  rubbing  it  on  strings  which  were  hnngroui.d 
the  room  in  a  crar.kiing  form,  am!  at,  proper  times  touched  with  the 
snuff  of  the  burning  candle,  suddenly  creates  the  flash  ;  the  room 
being  dark  with  black  tapestry,  and  the  thread  and  powder  black, 
the  deception  is  not  in  the  least  perceived  :  the  flashes  of  lightning 
are  created  by  pounding  of  rosin  to  a  powder,  and  tilling  up  a  tube, 
leaving  room  in  the  middle  to  let  through  the  breath,  which  when 
blown  through  drives  out  the  dust  into  the  blaze  of  the  candle  and 
flashes  extremely  :  this  candle,  though  concealed,  prevents  not  the 
flashes  from  casting  their  beams  and  flying  particles  through  the 
room . 

The  wind  is  the  next  thing  that  comes  under  consideration.  This 
Seeming  wind  is  created  by  the  person  who  stands  in  the  room  next 
to  the  room  where  I  stand  myself,  by  his  rubbing  with  brushes  the 
paper  or  tapertrv  on- the  wall,  whilst  another  man  or  myself  shake 
or  rattle  the  window  which  is  near  to  the  place  where  I  stand  myself. 
The  reader  *iil  recollect  tuat  in  this  affair  we  are  all  in 


223 

darkness,  and  are  ignorant  of  the  operations  ;  but  it'  it  is  well  done  it 
appears  exactly  and  perfectly  like  a  storm  of  wind. 

The  shower  of  rain  was  artificially  made  in  this  form,  i.e.  I  had 
prepared  a  cylinder,  the  outside  of  which  was  not  more  than  one- 
eighth  of  an  mch  thick  ;  inside  I  placed  small  ribs  at  a  little  distance 
from  each  other  :  in  this  cylinder  I  put  about  three  pounds  of  fine 
shot,  when  I  placed  it  on  posts  in  the  manner  of  a  grindstone,  with  a 
crank  to  turn  bv  ;  Avhen   ready  for  the  shower  of  rain,  this  cylinder 
being  placed  in  "an  adjacent  room  was  turned  round  very  swiftly,  and 
the  shot  falling  continually  down  on  and  between  the  ribs  of  the  cy- 
linder made  a  sound  as  of  abundance  of  rain  :  these  things  are  in 
themselves  simple  and  not  calculated  to  deceive  sensible  people; 
but  still  when  we  consider  the  near  relation  w  liich  they  have  to  re- 
ality in  the  sounds,  the  continual  agitation  the  spectators  were  under, 
the  darkness  of  the  room,  and  the  mind  filled  with  sudden  admira- 
tion at  tbe  quick  succession  of  extraordinary  events  following  each 
other,  without  giving  them  time  for  reflection,  no  wonder  that  they 
were  filled  with   astonishment  and  surprise,  and  especially  as  they 
had  no  idea  of  my  having  any  assis  nuts  in  the  exhibition  of  the  scene. 
In  addition  to  these  things  1  might  have  mentioned  the  sudden  going 
out  and  lighting  up  of  the  candles  ot  themselves  at  the  departure  of 
rhe  spirit.     This  circumstance  being  small,  has  been  omitted,  yet  for 
the  information  of  the  curious  I  briefly  mention  that  it  is  commonly 
supposed  by  people  who  believe  in  spirits,  that  when  a  spirit  appears 
where  there  is  a  burning  light  they  alwajs  put  out  the  light ;' the 
light  on  the  appearance  of  this  spirit  went  immediately  out:  when 
he  had  liberty  to  depart,  I  ordered  him,  as  he  was  about  to  leave  u.«, 
to  light  up  the  candles,  ;t!.d  immediately  there  appeared  a  red  spot: 
of  fire  on  the  top  of  the   snuff  of  the  candles,  and  directly  it  increa- 
sed and  lighted  up  into  a  blaze.     This  was  full  proof  in  Mexico  that 
I  dealt  with  spirits  in  a  distant  state  of  existence  :  but,  though  appa- 
rently clear  to  them   that  these  feats  were  super-natural,  1  can  in- 
iorm    the  public  that  they  \vere  altogether  simple,  and  for  the  ex- 
planation of  the  first,  i.  e.  the  candles  going  out  on  the  appearance 
of  the  spirit,  it  was  done  in  the  following  manner  :  the  candles  were 
placed  on  a  stand  at  the  side  ot  the  wall,  and  tubes  placed  so  that 
through  the  ceiling  the  air  was  conveyed  to  the  blaze  of  the  candle, 
by  \v  hich  it  \vas  extinguished  ;  on  the  departure  of  the  spirit  the  can- 
dles alighted  again  in  this  mariner  ;  the  first  candles  were   secretly 
conveyed  away,  and  t\\  o  others  put  on  the  stand,  caudles  and  candle- 
sticks of  the  same  likeness;  the  wicks  of  these  latter  were  touched 
with  phosphorus,  and  having  heated  the  point  of  mv  sv  ord,  at  the 
departure  of  the  spirit  I  touched  the  top  of  the  snuffs,  and  they  soon 
kindled  to  a  blaze.     This  was  the  fashion  in  which  the  mvstery  was 
f.mcealed.     Thus  much  for  the  exhibition  and  feats  performed  at 
ilie  raising  of  the  ghost. 


224 

A  description  of  an  Electrical  Machine  in  a 
plain  and  simple  manner. 

I  T  o  o  K  a  large  smooth  glass  globe  or  cylinder,  about  14  inche* 
long   and  8  inches  in  diameter ;  at  each  end  there  is  a  small  neck 
^wherein  I  fix  an  iron  crank  ;  then  I  procure  a  bench  with  two  posts 
to  receive  the  crank,  and  place  the  cylinder  on  the  stands  :  I  fixed  a 
handle  on  one  end  of  the  cylinder  to  turn  it  by  ;  i;  the  middle  of  the 
cylinder,  on  the  hinder  part,  I  fixed  a  spring  of  Steel;  on  the  spring 
1  fix^-d  a  cushion  or  rubber  made  of  black  silk,  and  filled  it  up  with 
horse-hair;  on  one  side  of  the  cushion  or  rubber  I  fixed  a  piece  of 
buck-skin,  on  which  I  put  a  thin  coat  of  amalgum  which  I  made  of 
quicksilver  and  zinc  mixed  together,  which  rubs  against  the  glass  : 
the  spring  of  steel  is  insulated  with  glass,  to  prevent  the  fluid  from 
flying  away  which  is  collected  by  rubbing  of  the  cushion  against  the 
glass  ;  to  strengthen  the  electricity  I  procured  a  piece  of  black  silk 
ai.'i  fastened  it  on  the  cushion  and  let  it  hang  over  the  glass  :  then  I 
procured  a  conductor  made  of  tin  or  of  brass  about  fifteen  inches 
long  and  three  inches  in  diameter  ;  on  one  end  of  the  conductor  I 
put  a  large  brass  hollow  ball  about  six  inches  in  diameter  ;  through 
the  end  of  this  ball  I  fixed  a  small  wire  about  three  inches  long,  and 
at  the  end  of  this  small  wire  1  fixed  another  small  brass  ball  about 
half  an  inch  in  diameter,  on  which  I  fixed  the  small  chain  to  receive 
the  electricity.  On  the  other  end  of  the  conductor  I  fix  a  narrow  plate 
of  brass  about  ten  or  twelve  inches  in  length,  with  brass  wires  pro- 
jecting out  towards  the  glass  cylinder,  the  points  come  within  a  quar- 
ter of  an  inch  of  the  cylinder  and   are  fixed  about  half  an  inch  from 
each  other ;  these  points   receive  the  fluid  from  the  cylinder  and 
draw  if,  back  to  the  large  brass  ball;  from  thence  it  runs  into  the 
electi'ieal  receiver  :  this  receiver  is  a  glass  jar  which  holtls  about  a 
quart:  in  this  jar  I  put  gum-water  enough  to  make  a  thin   gluey 
coat  around  the  inside,  within  about  two  inches  of  the  top,  and  theu 
put  in  a  half  pint  of  brass  filing  and  turn  it  round  until  the  filing  cre- 
ates a  second  coat  on  the  glue     these  brass  coats  are  half  an  inch 
thick,  if  an  inch  thick,  it  would  be  better  :  on  the  outside  of  tliis  jar 
I  put  a  coat  of  tinvile,  with'i!i    about  two   inches  from  the  top,  even 
with  the  inside  coating.     The  philosophy  of  this  is,  to  prevent  the 
.iluid  from  flying  out  at  the  top  oi'  the  jar,  for  if  the  outside  was  cover- 
ed even  with  the  top,  the  vessel  would  have  no  power  to  contain  the 
electrical  fluid.     The  mouth  of  the  jar  is  stopped  with  cork  ;  through 
the  cork  I  put  a  brass  wire  reaching  down  into  the  bottom  of  the  jar  ; 
all  around  this  brass  wire  are  fixed  small  wires  leading  to  the  sides  of 
ihe  jar  in  every  direction  :  in  order  that  the  brass  filing  may  receive 
'Jie  electrical  fluid,  the  main  \»irc  readies  about  six  inelies  out  of  th« 
j.ir  ;  abo\e  the  cork  and  on  <he  top  is  fixed  a  brass  ball  two  inches  in 
diameter  :  the  cork  of  the  jar  must  be  sealed  up  with  bees-wax  ;  af- 
er  which  put  the  brass  ball  of  the  jar  to  the  ball  of  the  prime  con- 
ductor arid  set  the  machine  on  motion,  i.e.  turn  the  cylinder  swiftly 
round  to  crerite  the  cieclriea!  fluid  :  this  fluid  im mediate!}'  passes  in- 
co  the  jar,  through  the  conductor.     A  person  touching  the  outside 
af  the  jar  with  one  linger r,  and  the  brass  bat!  with  the  other,  receives 
'.'.e  stock, •  The  coflduytar  stands  oa  Iv.o  glass  tub'.; 


225 

I  o  the  jar  I  fixer!  three  conducting  rods,  i.  e.  three  glass  vials  about 
8  or  10  inches  in  length  ;  in  each  of  these  vials  I  fixed  a  wire  in  the 
same  manner  in  vvhiqh  I  fixed  the  wire  in  the  jar,  with  a  small  brass 
ball  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter  ;  then  I  fasten  a  brass  cord  around 
the  jar  and  the  other  end  on  the  Avire  of  one  of  the  conducting  rods, 
mid  with  one  other  wire  I  unite  the  other  two  conducting  rods. 
.When  I  would  electerize  a  person  in  particular  parts  of  the  body 
where  there  are  acute  pains,  I  touch  the  first  conducting  rod  which 
is  united  with  the  jar,  to  that  part  of  the  body  or  limb,  and  the  last 
mentioned  conducting  rod  to  another  part  of  the  person  :  the  elec- 
<  rical  fluid  passes  out  of  the  first  conducting  rod,  through  the  per- 
son, and  into  the  other  two  conducting  rods ;  from  thence  it  re- 
bounds back  through  the  person  suddenly  >  and  creates  the  shock j 
passing1  iuto  the  jar. 


A  NEW  DISCOVERY  IN  ELECTRICITY. 

The  machine  and  conductor  is  made  of  the  for- 
mer description,  except  the  cylinder  and 
cushion,  See. 

FIRST  I  made  a  cylinder  of  rosin,  14  inches  long  and  10  in- 
ches diameter  :  this  cylinder  hangs,  and  turns  with  a  crank  in  the 
same  form  as  above  described.  I  fastened  two  vials  one  on  each 
post  where  the  cylinder  runs  in.  I  next  formed  a  wire  that  reached 
from  one  post  to  the  other  with  about  fifty  brass  points  fastened  to 
the  wire,  so  that  the  ends  that  hang  down  just  touched  the  cylinder 
of  rosin,  whicli  collects  the  fluid  and  carries  it  to  the  conductor  by  a 
wire  that  reaches  from  the  points  to  the  conductor  or  jar;  then 
there  is  a  cushion  made  of  fox-tail  that  rubs  against  the  cylinder  ; 
this  is  fastened  on  a  spring  just  behind  the  cylinder,  opposite  the 
conductor,  insolated  with  glass  to  prevent  the  fluid  from  falling  back 
into  the  ground.  If  this  be  done  according  to  the  description,  you 
will  find  more  fluid  from  this  machine  than  any  other  invention. 
This  experiment  I  made  on  the  24th  day  of  January,  1811. 


ANOTHER  DISCOVERY  IN  ELECTRICIT y, 

ON  A  MORE  SIMPLE  PLAN. 

FIRST  I  took  a  round  piece  of  a  board  about  18  inches  hi  di- 
ameter ;  I  covered  the  board  with  rosiu  about  one  half  inch  thick  ; 
then  I  took  a  tin  plate  15  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  glass  handle  fas- 
tened in  the  centre  of  the  tin  plate,  then  rolled  the  coit  of  rosin 
•with  a  fox-tail  and  put  the  plate  to  the  rosin.  During  this  time.,  teach 
your  fing(  ••  to  the  plate,  and  touehtbe  plate  to  the  jar,  and 
•will  receive  a  shock. 


226 

A  DESCRIPTION  HOW  TO  TAKE  LlGHTXING 
OUT  OF  THE  ELEMENTS. 

I  TOOK  a  keg  of  rosin  and  put  an  iron  rod  in  it  about  15  feet 
long,  with  a  brass  point  on  the  top,  and  likewise  a  brass  wire  tied  to 
the  rod  and  reaching  down  to  the  ground.  This  machine  I  erected 
on  a  high  tower  :  it  will  attract  electrical  fluid  from  the  clouds  r 
and  if  a  jar  be  applied  to  this  wire,  it  will  fill  in  a  second  with  elec- 
trical fluid. 


The  preceding  narrative  is  presented  to  the 
public,  with  many  imperfections  :  their  indul- 
gence I  shall  only  ask  until  a  better  and  fairer 
opportunity  shall  allow  me  to  make  a  fuller  and 
better  explanation  of  these  works  at  some  fu- 
ture period. 


